In Memory of a Friend
by coffeefur
Summary: Sequel to Winds of a Dark Water(WoDW,DoCR).Tokiya and Fuuko are a couple in secret, and they’re happy with that.But just as they thought everything would end up happily ever after, Tokiya’s past comes haunting him back again…
1. Prologue

**Title : _IN MEMORY OF A FRIEND_**

**Author : **FuJinGrL

**Anime Series : **Recca no Honou (after the anime series, not the manga)

**Rating : **PG-13

**Genre : **Romance, slight angst, action

**Disclaimer : **Recca no Honou does not belong to me...they belong to their respective owners...please don't sue me...this is only for pure entertainment...I don't get any profit for this...so don't sue me please...blah blblahblablhalhahbaha...the usual disclaimer! Sorry if this is a BIT angsty...guess I'm sort of getting into that genre...but don't worry, there are still some funny parts, but they're not that many and that funny though...OH! And wait for the sequels, please? Because I'm continuously making sequels of sequels and so on (if you catch my drift) so please, if you're not satisfied with the endings on my present fics, then kindly wait for the sequels patiently and who knows? You might get satisfied THEN. Oh boy, my lecture's getting pretty long...HEHEHEHE sumimasen!!! Well any way, ON WITH THE FIC!!!!!!!!! :D

**Claimer : **One of the characters here, Hinageshi Akira, is mine, though, copyright!!! :D

**Teaser : **This fic is a sequel to the Tokiya+Fuuko part of "Winds of a Dark Water, Death of a Crimson Rose", so please do not read this if you haven't read that one yet. (okay, maybe you can, but you'd be missing out on some stuff that happened between Toki-chan and Fuuko…so please read it ONLY if you have no other choice…please?) 

                Tokiya and Fuuko are a couple in secret, and they're happy with that because things seemed to go pretty well. But just as they thought everything would end up happily ever after, Tokiya's past comes haunting him back again…

PROLOGUE Tokiya

_"You know," she frowned, taking a few steps away from me. "We oughta be…um…" she trailed off. _

_I cocked my brow, eyeing her questioningly. "What is it?"_

_"Well…it's just that…we shouldn't get too close to each other, you know? People at school might start wondering why all of a sudden we're, like, the best of friends after being the worst enemies," she reasoned._

"_Hn, what do they__ care, anyway? If they start wondering about us, __then that's their __problem," __I said, stepping closer to her again as we walked to the university._

_She bit her lip. "Hmmm, well you're right you know, but what about Hanabishi? You know __he wouldn't let any cheesy moment pass by without making incredibly stupid __kissing noises," she turned to me, grinning. "And I know__ how much you love__ that."_

_I blinked, considering the thought. Just picturing Hanabishi's stupid__ face with his stupid__ tongue out and his darn cheesy words was enough to make me throw up for a whole darn year. Ugh._

_"Maybe you're right, Fuu-chan," I sighed, inching away._

_She smiled at me. "Only__ at school, okay? We'll just have to keep pretending as long as we're in school," she winked._

_The corners of my mouth tugged and a small smile formed on my lips._

_"Oooh, you're more kawaii__ that way!" she giggled._

_The small smile widened just a tiny little bit. I couldn't help it; I had__ to smile whenever she was with me. Just her presence always made my day brighter. But then, I could never smile too__ widely most of the time. That was just what I got used to ever since my sister's loss._

_Besides, I was pretty good at smirking__, not at smiling__._

_"You're so cuuuute__, Mi-chan!" she squeaked._

_But then, with Fuuko around, maybe, just maybe, I might__ learn how to smile like I used to again._

_She clapped her hand to her mouth, as we neared the university entrance. Her facial expression changed right away, keeping it as neutral and as mischievous as possible._

_"Okay, Mi-chan, here we go," she cleared her throat and stepped farther away from me, placing her hands behind her head._

_I looked away from her and shoved my hands into my pockets, staring hard at the ground._

****


	2. Flashes of Light

PART ONE Flashes of Light 

**Tokiya**

Every day it had always been the same conversation. Why did we always have to pretend? I was sick and darn right tired of pretending. It was hard not to crack a tiny grin around her since _she was always grinning. Plus, I hated having to be rude to her all the time._

"Alright, Freezer Boy, I sure hope your notes are jam-packed today, 'cause I sure am ready for some full-speed copying!" she beamed. "Oh, and yeah, did I mention that my fingers are _really fatigued over playing video games last night that I can't write a single letter today?" she punched me lightly on the shoulder._

Did I mention that I was also darn right tired of her trying her best to look like she's annoying me?

I tried to give her my nastiest glare out of the corner of my eye, but somehow, it didn't turn out as nasty as I thought.

She grinned widely. "Yatta! I knew you'd help me out, Freezer Boy!!!" she squealed, placing her hands behind her head again.

And did I _also mention that I hated the nickname 'Freezer Boy'? I had thought that once we had gotten together, the stupid pseudonym would disappear. I hadn't thought that we'd need to pretend to be enemies whenever we were at school._

And you've got no idea how hard it was to pretend to completely hate her when all I could feel for her was the exact opposite of it.

I frowned.

"I know it's hard, Mi-chan, but we have to do this. You've got to understand that this is necessary if we want to keep our relationship a secret," she whispered, giving me her sweetest smile.

I sighed and edged away.

Thank goodness, the ice was broken.

No sooner did Hanabishi's loud and irritating voice echo through the whole campus, calling out my name for another round of his senseless senselessness. 

I sighed in exasperation as I sensed him coming near, expecting his traditional, annoyingly huge slap on my back, trying to shake my soul out of me, and his traditional 'what's-up-Freezer Boy' with a big and absurd grin on his clueless face. I was prepared for the worst.

But surprisingly, all I got was, "Oi, Mikagami!"

I stopped dead in my tracks, turning around to face him. I paused and gave him my iciest stare, demanding an explanation. But he just stood there, grinning like an idiot. It was then that I realized: Yanagi-san was behind him. No wonder the huge hunk of a pest-vermin was actually behaving rationally today. I smirked at him. "How pathetic, Hanabishi. Do you actually _think that Yanagi-san doesn't know your true attitude?" _

"Well," he took Yanagi's hand, wiggling his brows at me. "I know _I wouldn't act like a jerk if __my koishi was standing right next to me," he smiled slyly, jerking his head towards Fuuko, who was just watching the conversation beside me._

I rolled my eyes, suddenly remembering that Recca knew about Fuuko and me.

_Just my luck.___

I cleared my throat, sneaking a glance at Fuuko. She was grinning, too, as usual. She put her hands to her hips and sneered challengingly at him. "You know, Hanabishi, your sense of humor is _so sickeningly funny," she said sarcastically, shrugging. "You know, I think you're just trying to change the subject," she tilted her head, faking a pitiful look on her face. "Tsk tsk, reversing the topic to the one who started the conversation is __really very womanly for a womanly bickering," she shook her head at him. "But then again, I guess it fits a __very womanly guy like __you," she finished._

"What was that???" Recca's eyes widened. "Who're you calling a woman?!?"

Fuuko burst out laughing, clutching her stomach. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" she said between gasps. "You're so sensitive sometimes, you know that?"

Yanagi-san was smiling as well. "You know, Fuuko-chan," she turned to her then back at me, "Mikagami-san, you both make a really cute pair. Maybe you both should go out together a little more," she commented. "Unless you're planning to keep your relationship '_just-between-the-four-of-us."_

Fuuko blinked. "Well---"

"It's a good thing Domon is in another university. If he was here with us, he'd practically _die if he saw you two," Hanabishi remarked._

"Hn, I guess his brains got too small that he didn't get accepted here," I smirked.

"Aw, c'mon, Mi-chan, don't be so harsh on him, alright?" she grinned at me. I sighed and began to smile back.

"Oh, drat, I should have brought my camera," Recca said. "This is _the Kodak moment of the millennium! __Man, Tokiya, you actually __smiled!"_

I narrowed my eyes at him, swearing that if it was possible, I could've melted him on the spot.

But something else caught my eye.

A red-haired girl was observing our little crowd of four, leaning against a tree and twirling the pendant on her necklace.

I also noticed that the very same girl was the one who'd been watching us for the past few days. 

I kept my gaze on her at the corner of my eye. What was _her problem? What did she want, anyway? Why was she---_

"Mi-chan? Is there anything wrong…?" Fuuko's voice broke through my thoughts. I shook my head and looked back at her. "Nothing," I replied simply. She looked at me worriedly, and then turned to the direction I was looking at. She cocked her brow, confused.

"Who was that girl?" she pointed to the lady, who had turned around and sped into the university building, her long hair bouncing off her shoulders.

"That's what I want to know," I muttered, shoving my hands deeper into my pockets.

"Oh, that?" Recca jerked his thumb at the girl. "That's Hinageshi Akira, class top scorer," he grinned. "She's a beauty, isn't she?" he beamed, until Yanagi started to turn red. "Ah…I mean…she's a beauty to _some guys, but not to __me!!!" he pleaded, trying to avoid another step-on-your-foot-and-scream-like-Godzilla incident that happened back in the tournament._

Fuuko shook her head. "Recca no baka…"

I frowned in suspicion, still staring at the direction Akira disappeared to. Somehow…she didn't seem like _just the class top scorer to me…_

**Fuuko**

I jabbed my finger at my cheek, my forehead creasing in confusion at all the notes listed on the notebook in my hand. I narrowed my eyes at my illegible handwriting, completely forgetting that I was reading while walking down the hallway. Which, in other words, was The Chamber of Hazardous Doom. Reading a book down the hall would be the perfect key for someone who was longing to undergo a tragic fate. 

And as if right on cue, someone bumped right into me, scaring the living daylights out of my soul and causing my inside stars to shoot right up to heaven.

I scowled as I stumbled down the ground, my notebook flying out of my hand. "_Darn it, hey, why don't you watch--" I was cut short as soon as I saw whom I bumped into._

"Oh my gosh, I am _so, __so sorry, are you alright, darling?" she batted her incredibly long lashes and extended her long, slender fingers at me, helping me up._

"Um…" I dusted off my denim shorts and lifted my eyebrow at her, eyeing her from head to foot and back. She was wearing a really, really huge, long-sleeved and almost see-through polo that reached down somewhere near her knees, and inside, she wore black shorts and a black, sleeve-less midriff blouse (which made her look like she was on her way to gym or the beach or something, considering it was _fit), making the huge pendant on her necklace, her long dangling earrings, and her incredibly showy, hundred-layer-chain-bracelet (Or so it __looked that way to me; it must be a hundred or so since it reached up to her elbow--boy was she weird...and suspicious, too--) really evident. And…_

And…

That was it…?

That was all she wore? I shuddered at the thought of anyone ever being _too showy, exposing that much skin. Repulsive. So much for class top scorer; she sure looked like one of those completely annoying hey-guys-look-I'm-sexy lifeguard babes in Baywatch, if you asked me._

You know, those flashy, gaudy, glitzy, jazzy, brassy, ritzy, swanky (oh what the heck), and totally obnoxious model wannabes.

Since she was still looking at me "worriedly", I realized that I still hadn't answered her question.

"Oh, yeah…yeah, I'm alright, yup, no problem here," I said, picking up my notebook.

"Oh, thank goodness, dear," she flipped her long, crimson hair behind her shoulders and eyed me. "You're Kirisawa Fuuko-san, are you not, darling?" she asked in her little accent.

"Uh huh," _Dah-ling, I imitated inwardly. _Where the heck did she pick up that stupid intonation? ___Hel-lo! Weirdo alert!  I cleared my throat. "Akira, right?"_

A tight smile spread over her thin, lipstick-invaded lips. "Ah, yes, right."

I gave a small, reluctant nod. "Naruhodo. Hajime mashite," I blurted out involuntarily. Sometimes, I'm just way too nice for my own good.

But she didn't even return the greeting. Hey, what did I expect from _her, anyway?_

"Err…Fuuko dear, do you happen to know this tall, cute, and _handsome guy in the classroom down the hall? He's got, like, the most amazing blue eyes and this really long, silvery hair? Plus he wears this totally cool silver chain necklace all the time?" she looked at me expectantly. _

"…" Of course I knew whom that tall, kawaii guy with perfect blue eyes and silver hair is. And of course I knew that guy in the classroom down the hall. In fact, I was heading there right now. No one else but my koibito. I just didn't feel like telling Akira anything about him.

Because by the way she'd used such words to describe him, it sure seemed like…well…like…

I gulped. It sure seemed like she was _interested in him. __Romantically. I mean, sure, who'd be the insane girl who wouldn't be, ne? With his tantalizing eyes and his adorable face…But this…this was different. It seemed like Akira was __really, really interested in him. And well…_

I didn't want _anyone to take him away from me. Sure, talk about totally selfish but…that was just the way it was._

"Well? Do you happen to know him?" Akira pressed on. 

I sighed. All right, fine. Besides, she'd seen me with him a couple of times before, so she must not be dense enough to be fooled if I told her I didn't know him. 

I shrugged. "Yeah, yeah I do. Mikagami Tokiya is his name. What do you want from him?" It sorta came out sounding like a challenge although I didn't mean it to. But hey, what could I say? I didn't want anyone getting anywhere _near __my Mi-chan._

"Oh," she cooed, her eyelids half-closed and a sly smile on her face. "So desu ka?" she continued, not waiting for an answer. "Well, Fuuko, darling, thanks a _lot," and she spun around, clutching her pendant again, and began to walk away._

Without answering _my question yet. I couldn't live with that._

"Akira, chotto matte!" I called. She turned her head a little sideways. 

"What is it that you want with him?" I persisted.

She gave a slight, mischievous and annoying titter. "Oh, is that it?" She flipped her hair dramatically again. "It's nothing that may interfere with your affair, darling," she turned completely to face me. "I wouldn't want to get in your way, would I?" And with another giggle, she turned and left, leaving my mouth hanging open.

_Get in my__ way? Our affair??? __How in the world did she know that???___

**Tokiya******

I slowly withdrew the Ensui from the university pond, staring at my reflection in the water that had hardened on it. All I saw was a tiny little bastard who didn't deserve anyone in this world.

Slowly, I slid my thumb on the blade, letting the oozing blood cover my reflection, not knowing exactly why I was doing it. I kept sliding my thumb until an extremely big cut was on it. 

Oddly enough, I couldn't feel any pain at all. 

All of a sudden someone cleared her throat behind me.

I almost jumped up in surprise. I realized I had been in some sort of a trance, and immediately, I let the water dissolve and tucked the Ensui in my pocket, turning around to glare at whomever it was who witnessed my insanity. But my eyes widened as I saw who it was, and I abruptly turned my head back away from her. She was the _last person I had wanted to see right now._

"Ah, I've heard that you are Mikagami Tokiya?" she said.

"Whatever," I muttered.

"Is it alright if I called you Tokiya?" she went on.

"No," I snapped.

She chuckled and sat down beside me on the bench beside the pond. My blood boiled at her persistence.

_Darn this woman...___

"Why were you torturing your finger too much, dear? It never did anything wrong, you know," she continued, and I noticed that she had a foreign accent.

"…"

"We oughta get that checked; you could get an infection." 

"…"

"I see you're not much into talking, huh? That's what I've heard too--"

"What do you _want from me, Hinageshi?!? Because if you've got nothing better to tell me, then I suggest that you leave right__ now," I snapped, narrowing my eyes at her._

She just gave me a sly smile as her pendant sparkled, sending a strange feeling within me. I blinked, my eyesight suddenly getting blurred. And then…

There was a flash of blinding light…as I remembered men barging into the house…and I could hear oneechan's pleas…calling out my name…telling me to run…until her last breath…and blood sputtering all over the place…_her blood…as I had stood there helplessly…watching her die right before my eyes---_

Until another flash of light found me shaking my head as I rubbed my temples, keeping my eyes shut close.

"Are you alright, Tokiya?" 

I opened my eyes, still shaking my head a bit. I blinked a couple of times and stood up, looking back at Akira. All of a sudden, her crimson hair started to take on a light shade of brown…

I shook my head again, walking off. "Forget it, " I told her.

_Crap, what is happening to me? I mused, staring hard at the path I was walking on._

I had thought that I had tucked away remnants of the past and had completely forgotten about that horrible nightmare. 

But now, it seemed like my past was catching up with me one more time…


	3. Haunted All Over Again

PART TWO Haunted All Over Again 

Fuuko

I stretched my arms above my head, yawning, as another school day came to an end.

"Boy, that horrifyingly boring class sure got me worn out," I complained, placing my hands behind my head again. I glanced at Mi-chan, and noticed that he'd been staring into space since the beginning of our conversation. "But I'm sure _you didn't have any trouble in school today, ne?"_

He kept quiet.

"Mi-chan?"

"…"

I turned towards him and frowned in concern. "Daijoubu desu ka…?"

"…"

I blinked, and then something occurred to me that made me grin. "You know, I _did say that we should pretend to be the worst enemies, but school's over now, for one thing, plus we're not even at the university anymore!" I giggled. "When I told you to try to be harsh on me, I didn't mean that you would be keeping it that way, you know," I smiled at him._

But he still kept silent, continuing his track down the street.

Slightly frowning, I tilted my head to look at his face, but then I noticed his eyes. There was definitely something wrong...because they were cold and distant, blissful yet perishing, as if an insufferable agony was being played over and over again right before him…

"T-Tokiya…?" I whispered, a small shiver of fear and anxiety slowly creeping up my chest. "Tokiya…?"

When he still didn't respond, I placed a light hand on his shoulder and tried to shake him a bit, but it was as if he was in a...a _spell or something. _

The small shiver of fear slowly grew into a major attack on me. What was wrong…?

I immediately took his hand, which was pretty much getting cold, and squeezed it. "Tokiya!"

It was then that he finally snapped out of his reverie. He shook his head slightly, blinked a couple of times, and then turned to look at me.

I kept my hand in place, an indescribable fret popping out of my eyes. As his sight seemed to finally clear away, relief filled his troubled eyes at the sight of me. He really must have been suffering through a horrendous ordeal.

"Gomen nasai…" he mumbled breathlessly.

"Tokiya, what's wrong…?" I asked him.

"…" he hesitated. "Nothing."

Disappointment washed over me as I sighed at his reply. He must've realized this, because he placed an arm around me to try to make me feel better. But he still didn't utter a word, though.

"Are you…keeping things from me again? I thought we've been through this before," I persisted.

Silence.

Then I noticed that he was staring out into space again, dazed.

I sighed again and pulled away, slowly picking up speed towards my house. He was supposed to be accompanying me home, but now it seemed like he didn't even know I was there.

"…Fuuko…matte…" he said softly, catching up with me. I slowed down my pace.

"Tell me what's wrong, Mi-chan," I told him. "Kudasai…?"

He looked at me, deciding on whether or not he'd spill it out. I supposed he chose not to.

"Gomen, Fuuko…I just…I just can't," he said, slowly looking away.

Silence stretched on until we reached my house. I turned abruptly towards the doorway without saying a single word to him.

"Fuuko…" he mumbled. I stopped without turning around.

"I'm sorry…there are…there are just some things in my mind, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear about what I'm thinking…so please just try to understand, okay…? I'm sorry…" he somehow trailed off.

I clenched my quivering fist and nodded slightly, then continued to walk back inside, keeping the hurt to myself and desperately trying to fight the urge not to look back into his pained blue eyes.

**Tokiya******

_Baka! I wanted so badly to take out my Ensui and cut myself in half. It was such an incredibly lame thing to say._

My eyes slowly shifted up to her room's window, looking at her silhouette sitting on her bed. Even without seeing her face, I could tell she was hurt. And that was the last thing in this world I had wanted to do. 

_Sumimasen, Fuu-chan…I'm really sorry…it's just that---___

"Tokiya?"

What the--? I quickly looked beside me, surprised. No, wait; scratch that. _Annoyed. It was __she again. Didn't this blasted woman get the picture?_

She smiled her usual sly smile. "Konnichiwa," she said, glancing up at Fuuko's room as well. She blinked. "My, isn't this Kirisawa-san's house?" she mused out loud.

I frowned and began to walk away. I didn't even want to share the same _air with her. Don't ask me why I loathed her so much; my instincts just told me so. And usually my instincts were right._

"Where are you heading to?" Akira followed and fell in step beside me. I could feel my temper boiling up again. 

"…"

"May I come with you?" she continued.

I clenched my fists inside my pockets, choosing not to speak. Because if I did, I knew my words would come out exceedingly ruthless. And since I was trying to keep my cool, I didn't want that to happen.

She sighed. "I know all about it, you know," she said when I refused to talk to her.

I was trying my best not to fall for her trick--giving me a cliffhanger statement so that I'd get curious and actually ask her what it was about. But I was only good at tricks if it was involved in a battle or in a math problem or something. I was never really good at avoiding women's tricks, just like Fuu-chan's back then. But I won't go into what happened that time; it'd be a long story. Right now I was having a hard time avoiding _this one. And eventually, I fell for it, no matter how hard I tried not to._

"What's _that supposed to mean?" I asked reluctantly, still avoiding her gaze.  _

At this, she eyed me naughtily and smiled slyly again.  "I know all about your oneechan."                                                                                 

By this time I felt like I was going to explode. How _dare she butt into something that wasn't her business! After the revelation of my past in the tournament, I swore not to let another soul gain knowledge of it ever again. I had even made the team swear the same thing! And now here she came, barging into my life and examining my past?!? Didn't she understand that __I had __my privacy too???_

I glared at her, willing the ground to open up and swallow her whole. "Just _who the __heck died and gave you the right to--"_

"She's still alive."

I stopped dead in my tracks, swearing that the whole world around me ceased as well. My heart practically stopped beating, and all at once I forgot about Akira, the nightmares I'd been having, and my misunderstanding with Fuuko. In my mind's eye, all I could see was Mifuyu's peaceful, smiling face and her long auburn locks swaying in the wind.

_Mifuyu's…still…alive…? I mused, remembering how horrible it felt to see her warm body covered with blood, and how she had died handing the Ensui to me, still thinking of my safety even in the last moments of her life. __But…how…how can that be…? She died right before my eyes…right…?___

_Right…?___

"…"

"I can take you to her if you wish," Akira said, smiling at me. I shook my head to regain myself, my heart now beating three times as fast as before. "Well…? Do you want to see her?" 

I finally looked at her, checking to see if this was all some kind of joke she'd put on just to get my attention and drag me into something not worth my time.

"You're kidding …" I muttered hesitantly, half wishing she was so that it wouldn't keep bothering me anymore, and half wishing she wasn't because I really yearned to see oneechan again after such a long time.

But by the look on her face and the pesky smile on her lips, something told me she wasn't.

And I didn't know how to react to that.

Not only did I not believe it, but also I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I'd been missing my sister for so many years now…and now that the impossible had come true, the thought of seeing her again left me terribly confused. I didn't know whether to feel overwhelmed or to feel dubious or _anything. It was just that I never thought I'd see her again. And I never realized how I'd feel if ever I did._

"Think about it, Tokiya, I'm sure she'd been longing to see you after all these years, too," Akira carried on. 

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Why would _you want to help?"_

She hesitated, and for once, her eyes didn't hold the usual rascally look in them.

"I...I know how it feels..." she stared out into the empty street. "To lose someone who's always been there for you from the moment you were born..." All of a sudden she was frowning. "My brother was also murdered." Now she was practically clenching her fists. "And the worst part was...was that...he was killed by someone...someone I could've fallen in love with if it weren't for that reason..."

I looked down at her. Was she actually...serious...?

"Sorry," she shook her head and grinned up at me. Her impish expression was back again. "See me tomorrow, okay? I'll tell you everything you need to know," she said. 

I was still astounded that I gave a little nod. She winked playfully and walked off. I glanced at her as she walked away, an unspeakable sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me I didn't know what I was getting myself into.

And for once, my instincts had no idea either.

**Fuuko******

I glanced down gloomily at the sidewalk from my bedroom window, watching Mi-chan look up my way then leave together with that snotty girl, Akira. It made me sickeningly upset that he wasn't telling me what was wrong, and now it got into my skin that he was spending time with another woman, probably telling _her what he wouldn't tell__ me._

Okay, so maybe they weren't going out and _maybe I was just overreacting, but it __did seem that way. Or maybe…_

_Maybe what he was thinking so deeply about was our relationship. He probably thought that it wouldn't work out because he loved someone else…___

I clutched my pillow tighter to my chest, shutting my eyes close, leaning against the wall. It was a pillow he'd won for me in the arcade once, and it was one of my unforgettable moments, considering that he'd never played the arcade before and I only talked him into it.

I smiled, remembering how he had kept getting the high score and everyone had started to gather around him, watching him play. It was flattering that he had given the pillow to me instead of keeping it to himself in front of everyone.

I sighed, glancing outside the window again at the setting sun.

_Tokiya…___

The shrill ring of the phone gave me at least something else to think about. And I appreciated it a lot since I didn't want to spend the whole night moping around about my distant koibito. And as I picked up, a small wave of relief washed over me. It was Yanagi.

"So hey, how did it go?" she asked, eager to hear my answer.

I couldn't help but sigh. "Yanagi, is this about my horrible day at school, or is it about what we talked about before?"

"Well…I guess the dance can wait. So what happened to you at the university, anyway?" she said on the other line.

"Well…" I tried to get my mind off Mi-chan and concentrate on my friend instead. "First there was the paper I completely forgot about," I began, fishing in the cabinet for some neat clothes for the night while supporting the cordless phone on my shoulder. "It was, like, _so embarrassing, considering __I was the only one who forgot about it--"_

"And considering you're a girl, too, and girls are at least a little bit more responsible than guys," she commented. "At least, they're _supposed to be," she giggled._

"Don't rub it in," I bit my lip, picking up a clean pair of shorts (again) and a shirt that didn't have a hole on it. "So anyway, next up was the fact that I lost all my pocket money in the bathroom--"

"_What? Why???" she cut in._

"Don't ask," I told her, "it's all too horrible. Okay, then that stupid pop quiz came up about the topic that left a completely blank page on my notebook. That was what I was asking Mi-chan to help me with this morning because he already took all this stuff up last year, and since it was supposed to come out as just an excuse to make it seem to everybody that I'm annoying him, he didn't take it seriously. But I was _seriously in need of those notes, and since my lucky stars had vanished this day, we had a blasted pop quiz on it. I had even tried looking all over for Mi-chan to copy off his notes last year, but I couldn't __possibly find him anywhere…" I trailed off, recalling how desperately I had searched for him and he wasn't there. Yet another thing that was disappointing me. Where __had he been that time?_

My mind started to drift off again, but it was a good thing Yanagi spoke up when she did.

"Uh…Fuuko-chan? Are you alright?" Yanagi spoke worriedly, reminding me that she was still on the other line.

"Oh..uh..hai, I'm fine, yeah, sure. There was just…um…_something…um…oh, forget it," I cleared my throat. "So then when the day was __finally about to end, that crappy professor gave me an extra assignment, seeing that I was '__unable to understand the value of learning' and that I needed '__professional help in acquiring interest in lessons'," I rolled my eyes. "Translation: if I didn't improve my grades, pretty soon he'll be assigning me a tutor," I pouted, kicking off my sneakers and placing them on one corner. "And there's nothing more humiliating in this world than having someone tutor you when you're already in college." _

"Mmm hmm, you got that right, girl," she seconded. "Well! I can see that your day went pretty perfectly. It figures that you've been wearing an awfully big smile the whole day," she giggled.

"Ha ha, Yanagi, I appreciate the sarcasm, but it didn't actually make my day even just a little brighter," I grunted, unzipping my shorts and folding the pair neatly on my bed.

"Who cares about school, anyway? Forget about it and tell me all about what he said," Yanagi's voice sounded a bit more interested now. "Okay, so I'm going to ask you again the very same thing I asked you when you picked up. _How did it go?"_

"…" I took all the time I could to take off my shirt, not wanting to answer the question and hoping that the line would somehow get cut off (no matter how rude it would appear to Yanagi-san).

"Fuu-chan? Are you still there?" she asked after a few moments of silence. It took all of my self-control not to just shut up and pretend that I _wasn't there anymore._

"Hai…I'm still here," I answered reluctantly, staring blankly at my shirt and trying to find a way out of this.

"Okay…you're probably having a hard time answering my question, so let me _specify a bit, alright?" she cleared her throat. I gulped. Here it was. It was coming. "__Did he ask you?"___

It wouldn't have taken me such a long time to answer her question if Mi-chan _did ask me. But the trouble was, he __didn't. And I had a feeling he never would. Mi-chan was never much of a social person, and he hated parties, particularly __dances. He probably didn't even __know about the upcoming one. I myself had never seen him crack even a single step during the whole time I'd known him, which pretty much proved that he wouldn't be attending the Valentine's dance at the university a few weeks from now. And if ever he would, he'd probably ask that heck of a cheap flirt, Akira. And if __that ever happened, I'd be better off not going to the dance anymore. Maybe not even going to school anymore, either. Or probably ending my life, instead. Yes, that was how much I loved my Mi-chan. Although right now, it didn't seem like the feeling was mutual any longer._

"Oh no," Yanagi's voice dropped. "Don't tell me he…_didn't…?" I could hear her hold her breath._

I sighed noisily onto the phone and slouched on the edge of my bed. "_No, he didn't," I confessed miserably. "He didn't ask me at __all," I cried. "Crap, he didn't even __mention anything about it!"_

"I don't _believe this! I know Mikagami-sempai is not a party person, but couldn't he at least reconsider? Doesn't he understand that __this is a big day in history?" she commented._

"No, I don't think he does. Sure, I admit that I _did manage to change a part of his antisocial behavior, but Mi-chan still has that strong, silent, cold part of him that has been there ever since Mifuyu-san passed away. And I know I can't change that," I said disappointedly._

"I know, Fuuko-san, but this is so wrong! Aren't you going to do anything about it?" she asked.

"No, I don't really think so…" I sighed. "Besides, it's probably better that way so that no one would have any idea about our relationship," I replied.

"No! That's not the thing, Fuuko-chan! Just think about it. Mikagami-san will be graduating soon, and right now it doesn't really matter anymore if people knew about your relationship or not! I mean, what do _they care, anyway?" she reasoned._

"…" That was the same thing Mi-chan had told me before._ And according to him, __'…what do they care, anyway? If they start wondering about us, then that's their problem…' How I wished I had listened to him earlier. Because if the public knew about us, then that Hinageshi Akira-top-scorer-girl-with-no-shame-at-all wouldn't be flirting with him, knowing that he's taken. Okay, okay, I knew I was being too paranoid for jumping into stupid conclusions, but I just couldn't help but detest that woman for trying to take Mi-chan away. Say whatever you want, but that was just how jealous I felt._

"Oh Fuuko-san, we oughta _do something about all this!" Yanagi beamed in determination. "Oh, I know! Why don't I force him to go over there as in, __right now? Yes, that just might work! Once you're both alone, I'm __sure he'll ask you to the dance!"_

"Once again, I really appreciate your help, Yanagi, demo…" I glanced down at my bare body, covered only by my underwear. And if Mi-chan came barging in at this exact moment…

I blushed like crazy at the thought, even though he'd already seen me like this, along with everybody else, at our first battle with team Ku. At _my first battle with that pervert, Fujimaru._

But still, now that we were something else, the thought of him seeing me again like this…

I gulped and shook my head, trying to shake the conclusion that was forming in my mind away.

"…d-demo, Yanagi-san…i-it's just that…that I'm not, um, _dressed for the occasion or something," I finished._

"Whatever." I could almost see Yanagi shrugging at the other line. "I just want to make sure I see you two dancing together a few weeks from now," she said, "and I mean it! Promise me you'll be dancing with him that night, okay, Fuu-chan? Onegai?" she pleaded.

I sighed. I knew it was never going to happen, but I didn't want to disappoint Yanagi, now that she was determined and after all the efforts she'd tried to suggest (plus she made me feel a little better), so I just said, "I'll see what I can do."

"Good," she said. All of a sudden I heard the sound of knocking on her side of the line, followed by a muffled, "Hime-san? May I come in?"

I didn't need to think deeply about it; no doubt it was Hanabishi, and he had come to her house. 

"I guess I better go; it looks like you'll be needing a lot of quality time alone with your honey bun," I teased.

"That's _not funny, Fuu-chan--"_

I giggled. "Just don't do anything you might regret doing!"

"_Fuuko!" she fumed._

I laughed louder. "Okay, okay, I'm kidding!"

"You _better make sure you are!"_

"I'm sorry, Yanagi," I grinned. "Oyasumi nasai, and thanks a lot for, you know, making me feel better."

"Anytime. Oyasumi!"

"Night," And we hung up. I couldn't help but feel jealous of Yanagi, too, since Hanabishi was always there and she was sure that he didn't have any other girl in his life. While I wasn't.

I stared meaninglessly at the phone, hoping against hope that Mi-chan would call to say he was sorry and explain everything. _And ask me to the Valentine's dance._

But the phone kept silent all throughout the cold, lonely night.


	4. Bitter Sweet Dreams

PART THREE Bitter Sweet Dreams 

**Tokiya******

_The huge figures of men were nearing them, laughing a murderous laugh. The woman with long auburn locks was looking frantically worried, but through her eyes it was clear that she'd been worrying not for herself, but for the smaller, innocent, silver-haired young one beside her, who was looking at the silhouetted men with wide, confused eyes.___

_"Wh-what's happening, oneechan? Who are the big men coming this way---"___

_"Don't talk, Tokiya," whispered the tearing woman. "Don't even show yourself," she added through her muffled sobs.___

_"But---"___

_"Be quiet, please," she hushed, her eyes growing wider as the men came closer.___

_"Give it up, ya little twerp," one of them growled, not to the lady, but to the bemused boy.___

_"Yea, yeh better hand it ova if ya don wannus ta be nasty," said the other one.___

_The boy turned to his sister, asking, "What are they---"___

_"Go away, we don't know what you're talking about," cried the young lady, fighting back her tears.___

_"Tryin' ta play us for fools, are yeh? Well, we know how ta play that game…" the biggest one grinned. He began to raise something in his hand, something---___

_The boy's view was blocked by his sister's body, who stepped in front of him and begged for his life. "Please, we don't have what you want! Go away and spare the child---"___

_"Shuddup!!!" The man ordered, and the next thing the boy knew, was that he heard a horrifying slash and a shrill cry of pain from a voice that seemed so familiar to him.___

_From a voice that had always comforted him all throughout his childhood.___

_From a voice that escaped his sister's lips.___

_His mouth hung open, as he stared wordlessly at his sister's body, falling down, hitting the ground, and what seemed like thick red streams of blood spluttered all over the floor, and some on him as well.___

_For a moment he stood there, staring breathlessly at her body quivering in pain. Not only when the men laughed evilly and left did he find his voice.___

_"Oneesan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"___

_*FLASH*___

_"T-Tokiya…I'm…I'm glad you're alright…" she whispered at him, squinting to focus on his face.___

_"Oneesan!" The boy took her hand and squeezed it, hoping against hope that his sister wouldn't die. ___

_"Take this…this has been passed on from generations…to generations…in our family…" she handed him a small, grayish handle with a magnificent shining orb at the bottom. "Use it… wisely…"___

_When he saw her eyes, wavering, her skin growing pale and cold, he grasped her hand tighter, pleading, "Please oneesan, please don't leave me alone…"___

_"…it…it will…it will protect you…" she smiled faintly at him, and at that very moment, her once comforting eyes had turned a dull shade of dark brown, losing its usual glow. Her once warm touch had frozen, and her pink cheeks had turned pale. And at last, her once strong heartbeat, had slowed down, had faltered, had ceased life. She had breathed her last.___

_He gripped the handle she had given him, staring plainly at her, his eyes swelling but failing to release tears, his soul crying in agony but failing to make him feel pain.___

_For the moment he had lost his only beloved sister, he felt as though he had lost his own heart as well.___

_*FLASH* ___

_"Ugh!" the young boy stumbled for the thousandth time in the falling rain, dropping his sword, which he had now known as the Ensui. And for the thousandth time his master commanded, "Get up, boy!"___

_"Hai, Meguri-sama," he staggered, trying to stand straight and trying to put the Ensui in position. He winced in pain at his wounds, which were growing deeper and deeper each time he tried to master the technique. But his strong determination and will to avenge his sister's death gave him adequate strength to stand up and go on.___

_And so he focused his attention on his sword, exerting every possible effort to master the Hyomon Ken techniques, and with an exhausted yet determined cry he raised the Ensui and charged towards his master. And again with another thump and a scream of pain, he collapsed onto the floor. But this time, he stood up without his master telling him to. He narrowed his pained blue eyes, perseverance glinting and reflecting in them. He clutched his madougu again, agreeable to use up his whole lifetime just to master the techniques.___

I _will avenge your death, oneechan, no matter what. I__ swear I will…_

* _FLASH *_

_A boy in a black suit and an orange cap fell down on the floor, failing to use his trusty Ninja stars in his defense.___

_"Now, I shall finally be able to avenge oneechan!!!" the bearer of the Ensui, now grown up yet still intent on revenge, pointed his sword at the boy on the ground.___

_"Darn you!" the boy spat, glaring up at the older one. "How many blasted times do I have to tell you that I have no crappy idea on how the heck your sister died! How many---"___

_"Recca-kun!" a calm, slightly familiar voice echoed through the park.___

_The ice-wielder turned around, ready to attack the voice, but stopped short as soon as he saw whom it came from.___

_The woman's voice sounded just like his sister's, and not only that; she looked just like her as well. She had the same warm look in her eyes and there was a similarity on how the setting sun's rays reflected gracefully on her long, auburn locks. ___

_"M-Mifuyu-chan…?" his hand fell immediately to his side, along with his sword, as he stared blankly at her in honest bemusement, while she came running to his opponent's side to check Recca's wounds.___

_*FLASH *___

_"Mizu Hebi!!!" he summoned the water snake from his sword, smirking in triumph as it lunged at a man with shoulder-length curly locks standing right in front of him. But to his utter surprise, the man, with a shout of "Tsurara Hebi!", summoned an icicle snake, much bigger and fiercer than his water one, towards him. And at this, the boy fell down on the battle stage, wincing in pain and in amusement.___

That… that can't be…_his brows knit in confusion, he looked up at the man who called himself Kai. And it was then that he noticed the silver earrings on Kai's ear. Those earrings…!_

_His eyes widened. "You…" he glared at Kai, confirming in his heart that Kai was the murderer he had been searching for all his life.___

_And by Kai's smile, he knew it was true. He glared murderously at Kai, swearing that he'd kill him with absolutely no mercy. He stood up and tried to attack, but Kai's attack mirrored his, only Kai's was much more powerful. He once again stumbled on the ground, the pain growing stronger.___

_"Mikagami!"___

_He looked up at his teammates, spotting them shouting his name.___

_"You can do it, Mi-chan!" a lady with a purple, boy-cut hair looked encouragingly at him. So did Mifuyu's look-alike, Sakoshita Yanagi.___

_With this, he found new confidence in his soul. His teammates were cheering for him.___

_*FLASH *___

_He finally collapsed onto the stage, and what seemed like the last ounce of his blood poured out all over the ground. He knew he had lost his match.___

_"Mikagami!" a man with a big body and a nose ring, whom he had known long before as Domon, jumped onto the stage. So did Fuuko, the purple-haired girl from earlier. They both rushed to his side, concerned.___

_"Tokiya, daijoubu ka?" Fuuko looked worriedly at him.___

_Flinching, he replied feebly, "I'm fine…but what about Kai…?___

_Fuuko's brows furrowed. "Didn't you want to kill him in order to avenge your sister?" she frowned angrily at Kai. "It doesn't matter how he's doing!"___

_"Why did you do it?" Kai suddenly asked.___

_Everyone, except the silver-haired boy, looked questioningly at him. "Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?" he asked again.___

_"Ugh…" Tokiya groaned, trying to face Kai. "Somehow, I knew it wasn't you."___

_Kai grunted. "It figures. You really are__ something, Mikagami Tokiya."___

_"Why did you pretend you killed my sister…?" Tokiya went on.___

_"The truth is…that you were the real heir of the Hyomon Ken techniques…and I__ was the trash Meguri-sama threw around as a darn replacement. It was mortifying to have someone so much younger and inexperienced to take my place, so I wanted to see for myself…who this pathetic boy was…how his skills fared…" Kai looked down at him. "Now I know, and I couldn't agree with Meguri-sama more. No matter how hard it is to accept, it's true that a little squirt like you is actually better than me."___

_The boy looked blankly at him. "You won the battle."___

_"Shut up! Don't try to make me feel better…you could've killed me if you wanted to; for that and everything I've been through, I don't deserve to live." Kai began walking towards the end of the stage, where an indescribable bottomless pit lay open. Then he turned around at the wounded boy. "Do you still want to know who massacred your sister?" he grinned. "It was Meguri Kyoza himself."___

_"Baka na…" the boy's eyes widened at the revelation.  ___

_"Heh," Kai grinned. "The very first time he saw you, he knew at once that you had the potential, kid. But he thought that it would be better if you had something to keep you going. And true enough, with your sister's death, your skill enhanced amazingly," Kai explained. "So now, you know…" he stepped even closer to the end of the stage.___

_"W-What are you doing, Kai…?"___

_"Only one Hyomon Ken master must live," Kai grinned. "Besides, this is my true fate…"___

_"No, Kai!" the wounded boy wrung out of his comrade's grasps, and, despite the injuries, he hurried over to Kai. ___

_"Goodbye, 'brother'," and Kai let himself fall, a look of satisfaction on his face.___

_"Kai!" the boy called down to him. "Iie!!!"___

_* FLASH *___

_"She's still alive." A woman with long, scarlet hair named Akira said to him, making him stop dead in his tracks. And as he turned to look at her, he saw that her hair had started to take on the color of brown, and her eyes, the color of his sister's. Even her face began to change into Mifuyu.___

_Unable to blink, he stared blankly at her, as she smiled warmly at him, saying, "It's been a long time, Tokiya." ___

_"Wha---" he was cut short. "Mifuyu's" comforting look had changed into mad ones, and she raised her hand, ready to plunge his very own Ensui into his heart. Unexpectedly, he was frozen in his place, and instead of hearing his own scream of pain, he heard the scream of another. He turned to look at the direction of the voice. And to his horror, he saw that the Ensui had been pierced through another's heart, blood oozing out. Her eyes were fixed on him, a look of peace on them, and a satisfied smile on her lips. Her last words were, "I'm glad …I was able to…protect…protect…you…"___

_He knelt down on her side, clenching his fist. "FUUKO!!!!!" ___

_*FLASH *___

"!!!" I finally awoke with a start. I was panting so hard, sweat trickling down my forehead. I found myself shouting Fuuko's name, and it was then that I realized that it was all just a horrible nightmare. A _ghastly nightmare. In it, my past was being played over and over, driving me crazy. My own sister had turned against me, and had even killed Fuuko. And the worst part was: I had no idea what it had meant to convey. I looked around my darkened room, failing to go back to sleep. And then I remembered that I was supposed to meet Akira today to know how to see my sister again._

Sighing, I sat up in bed, Fuuko's dead yet peaceful face still haunting me.

_What did that stupid nightmare mean, anyway? _

My eyes drifted towards the bedside table, where the portrait Yanagi-san had drawn after Kouran Mori's tournament was resting. She had drawn all six of us and gave each of us copies of it as a reminder of our camaraderie. My eyes immediately rested on Fuuko. She had, naturally, the usual mischievous smirk on her pretty face. Yanagi-san had done a pretty good job in capturing her true essence.

Then my eyes drifted on oneechan's portrait, where she was holding up a flowerpot and was looking surprised at the camera. It was a stolen shot I took of her while she was busy gardening when I was much younger.

_I have __to see her again…_

And with a shake of my head, I got out of bed, forgetting all about the atrocious dream.

***

_Damn this heck of a day, I cursed, rounding the corner from the Dean's office, scowling. Why did it have to be me?_

****

_"One of our third year professors had to go on an emergency family leave today," the Dean had told me,__ "and since it was all too sudden, we didn't have sufficient time to hire a suitable substitute; so, considering you're by far the best student in the fourth year, I've decided to assign you as the substitute professor throughout the remainder of this day. Besides, I received word that you truly know much more than what the fourth year students are being taught, so I concluded that it wouldn't matter if you somehow skipped some of the sessions. There is no need to be bothered and make room for worry, Mikagami Tokiya. I have spoken to your advisers and they, too, approve of my idea. They have your grades for the day covered. I suggest that you consider this a great opportunity to review your past year's lessons!"****_

_Hn, I grunted. __A great opportunity. Yeah, right. Like I'm getting paid or anything. ___

I stuck my hands into my pockets, walking over to where the third years were having their classes.

**Fuuko******

_Kawaii...kawaii...I placed my chin on my palm, staring dreamily at our "substitute professor". So were all the other girls. Although there were slight blushes on Mi-chan's cheeks, he still kept a perfectly neutral and normally cold look at us, going on with his explanation. I could tell that being a professor for a day was boring him to death. But not in my case. _

In my case, it made the class much, much more interesting than usual, because then I get to gaze at his incredibly kawaii eyes without anyone suspecting anything. They'd think I was just listening _attentively. _

Finally his eyes rested on me, and the minute those amazing turquoise orbs of his bored into mine, I'd totally forgotten all about our misunderstanding last night, my suspicion that he was seeing someone else, and the disappointing fact that he hadn't asked me to the dance yet. That was the humongous effect he had on me.

When he saw my gaze, he quickly looked away, a streak of red slightly staining his cheeks again. 

Who could blame me? With how he was dressed today (black long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black jeans, black boots), plus the usual silver chain necklace around his neck, and the chain bracelet I'd given him before (which, of course, was identical to mine), not even another guy could resist to give him an admirable look.

But my bishounen-gazing fest ended too soon. Normally, I would've loved to hear the ring of the bell, but not now.

_Oh well, I can still have him all to myself at lunchtime, I grinned, as people began to leave the room and Mi-chan started to gather his books on the front desk._

I slowly walked up the aisle towards him, putting on the cutest smile I could manage. I leaned over the desk and stared at him.

Somehow, he didn't seem to have realized I was there.

I cleared my throat.

Silence.

I tapped my fingers on the desk.

Silence.

I began to tap my foot, too.

Silence.

"_Goodness, Tokiya! When are you ever going to even __know that I actually __exist on earth???" I blurted out. But instead of the sheepish and apologetic smile I had expected him to give me, he barely looked at me and mumbled an inaudible "sorry". __Then he started to walk towards the door._

"_Mi-chan!!!" I whined irritably and hurried up to him. He stopped and turned around. Then __finally, f-i-n-a-l-l-y, he cracked the smallest micro-smile I had ever known that existed. Or maybe it was a smirk. Aaahh, who cared? _

I smiled up at him and fell in step beside him. "I suppose you're feeling darn right miserable again, huh?"

He continued walking. Then, after a few moments, he muttered, "Tell me about it."

"Well!" I snapped my fingers. "I've got_ just the thing. I'm sure having lunch with me would cheer you up, ne?"_

All of a sudden he looked really flustered. "I can't, Fuuko. You see…there's…there's something I have to do right now, and…and I don't think I can get out of it early to have lunch with you," he began fidgeting with his bracelet.

I gaped at him in total shock. Mi-chan had _never in his __whole life fidgeted with __anything because he was feeling __uncomfortable about something. In fact, I didn't think he'd ever been __nervous before. _

He peeked out of the window in the hallway. "I really have to go, Fuuko. I'll just see you around," and he began to head for the stairs, without even waiting for my answer.

And I felt even more miserable than I had the night before.

***

I poked at the single green pea with my fork, staring so hard at it that I thought it would burn up.

So much for the thought of having Mi-chan all to myself.

I glanced at the Fuujin glistening inside my bag beside me. It had been a long time since I used it. It'd be pretty cool if I ever got the chance to use it again. And it'd sure be a lot better if its _real orb were there--_

"And _why, may I ask, is the famous wind-wielder sitting alone and eating lunch all by herself?"_

I looked up suddenly and came face to face with Hanabishi's smirking face, along with Yanagi's concerned one.

I smirked back up at him. "Thank you _so much for making me feel better," I stuck out my tongue at him._

But before he could snap back, Yanagi immediately sat down beside me and asked me the same thing.

"It's Toki-chan," I muttered. Yanagi looked pitifully at me. I guess I had looked awfully pathetic, since Recca looked concerned, too. I sighed and looked around the cafeteria at the students milling around here and there.

"Let's get outta here," I grumbled and stood up, heading for the halls.

"What's wrong this time?" Yanagi asked as we headed for my locker.

"I don't know," I sighed miserably. "He didn't want to have lunch with me because of 'something he had to do'. Which I don't think really existed. Plus, he didn't exactly look too happy to see me, either."

"There was probably some faculty work or meeting that he needed to attend. Don't forget that he's a professor for a day," Yanagi smiled, trying to cheer me up.

"Aaahh forget him," Recca shrugged. "Mikagami's just too touchy. You can't exactly blame him, though," he placed his hands behind his head and looked at me. "I thought you're already used to that."

"Yeah, I know, but this is different," I began to look outside the hallway window again. "It just feels like he's ditching me or something--"

At that moment, my breath caught in my throat and I dropped my backpack down to the floor. I hadn't even cared when all my books, including the Fuujin, fell out of it. My hands were shaking, and my whole body was quivering. Even my eyes were welling up. I clenched my fists tightly at my sides, willing myself not to burst out crying.

"Fuuko?" I could hear Recca's concerned voice trying to shake me. 

Yanagi walked closer to where I was standing and followed where my gaze was directed. 

"Fuuko-chan, what's--" she gasped.

"I…I don't…I can't…b-believe this…" I sobbed, my voice becoming hoarse.

Outside the window down the university gardens, was Tokiya--

--and Akira was sitting on the bench right beside him.


	5. Consequences of Memories

PART FOUR Consequences of Memories 

**Tokiya******

_That intolerable flirt! I clenched my fists. __She didn't even tell me why__ oneechan's still alive! ___

I kicked at a small stone that was on the pathway to the university gates. The day was practically over, and all the information I had gotten out of her at lunch was that it could be really dangerous in that place wherever Mifuyu was. She didn't even tell me specifically _where it was._

_Crap, I frowned at an innocent fly that was hovering above the ground._

But then…if it was _really dangerous or whatever, then I had to make sure Fuuko wouldn't be following me there. But it was tough to lose Fuuko; she always had a determined spirit within her. So all I had to do…was to be less nice to her…_

"Tokiya…?" an uncertain voice spoke from behind me. Wow, that sure was quick.

Fuuko began to walk beside me, although her head was bowed low and her eyes were less cheerful than they had been this morning. I had to fight the huge urge to ask her why she was upset and give her a hug just to make her feel better.

"Tokiya…there's…" she began, and I couldn't help but notice that there was a slight quiver in her voice. "There's this…lesson, I…I can't quite understand right now…" she went on, her head still hanging down. "Would it…would it be okay if…if you helped me out…? Just this one…last time…"

No one knew how much I had wanted to agree but couldn't. "I can't, Fuuko…I--"

"I understand…" she broke in, her voice becoming hoarse. And I could've sworn I saw something glistening in her eyes while she tried to hide them with her long bangs. Was she…was she crying…?

"Fuuko--"

"I'm _fine, Tokiya," she sniffed. "I can ask someone else…" her voice was muffled._

I looked down at her in concern. "Are you sure you're--" It was then that I spotted Hinageshi again, hurrying towards the exit.

_Oh no you don't, I'm not letting you get away without telling me every thing I need to know, I frowned at her direction._

I looked back at Fuuko, and was surprised to see that she was already looking at me. And true enough, she had been _crying. There were still dried tears on her cheeks._

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, she looked at me with eyes portraying hurt, rage, and fury.

"S-sure," she cried, trying to frown at me. "G-go ahead. Go ahead and catch up with Akira," her eyes welled up again and an unexpected sob escaped from her lips. At that moment, she turned around abruptly and stalked away.

***

_"Just why is she still alive?"___

_"Huh?" Akira pouted at me. Then she grinned and slipped her arm around mine. "Now, don't worry about that! It's not really important, you know," she cuddled closer.___

_"What?!?" I pried her hands off me and glared coldly at her. "I'd totally abandoned Fuuko and made her cry right in front of me just__ so I could talk to you, and now__ you're telling me__ that this whole damn thing isn't__ important?!? Why the heck__ won't you tell me, anyway?!?"___

_"Aw, now, if I told you, then there wouldn't be any excitement anymore, would there?" she grinned playfully at me.___

Right there and then I had wanted to strangle her and make sure she was frozen to death or eaten by the Tsurara Hebi alive.

But then her stupid pendant had shone again, and the next thing I knew I was pathetically walking back home, feeling fed-up with my own insensitivity, without even bothering to stop by Fuuko's house to say I was sorry. A perfect example of the most gutless wimp on the face of the earth.

My stomach was churning, and my heart was squeezing the life out of me. I was such a big _jerk._

First I'd disagreed to help her out, then I'd gone looking out for Akira in front of her face.

What was worse, I hadn't gotten a thing out of Akira anymore, which made the fact of making Fuuko hate me forever just to talk to Akira completely useless. Now, all I had to hang on to was the single, solitary and tiny hope that my sister actually _could be alive. I didn't even know __why she was alive. But since I was so pitifully desperate to see her again, all my mind was set on to do now was believe that I __could see her again. Yet another point in proving I was a spineless freak._

I jabbed my room key into the keyhole forcefully, my brows furrowing and feeling the worst I'd ever felt for so long. Once I turned the lock, I slammed the door open so hard that the girl next door peeped out of her room to check out the racket. Who cared about the whole damned commotion, anyway?

I tossed the keys onto the bedside table and flopped down on my bed, wishing that tomorrow would never come.

When all of a sudden the blasted ring of the pesky phone came about to add up to my exceedingly foul mood.

I covered my face with my pillow, willing the rings to just stop and leave me alone to deal with my pathetic situation. But whoever was calling was so stupidly and annoyingly persistent.

With an infuriated growl, I threw the crappy pillow across the room and grabbed the receiver.

"_What do you want?!?"_

My lucky stars had died and gone up to heaven. Hanabishi was the _last person I had wanted to talk to right now. _

All thanks to my perfectly wonderful luck.

"Oi, Mikagami! You did a pretty good job back there! I saw Fuuko bawling her way out of the university--"

"You dare say another _damn word and I __swear I'll make you suffer through a billion hells," I snapped coldly, gripping the receiver as hardly as I could. _

"Whoa, chill, Freezer Boy! I didn't call just to be a pain in the butt--"

"You're _always an insufferable pain in the butt."_

"Hey, _I'm not--"_

"Just what the _heck did you call me for, anyway?!?" I sighed irritably._

"Well," he paused. "I just called to see if you wanted to hang out."

"_Nani?!?" I blinked, staring at the phone._

"I _asked," he cleared his throat," if you wanted to go out with me or something. After all, tomorrow's a day-off. No classes."_

"…" I couldn't bring myself to speak. _Baka na..._

Hanabishi…? 

The heir of one of the most powerful madougu, the so-called strong, brave, boyfriend of Yanagi-san, Hanabishi Recca...? 

Of all people…?

_So desu ka…_

_Recca is a…a…___

"…waitaminute, _darn you! I'm not __a homosexual or anything!!! What the heck are you __thinking?" he grumbled._

"Hn," I grunted, hiding the fact that I was utterly _relieved. "What's the stupid catch, anyway?!? Why don't you just go out with your hime?"_

"Can you really blame a guy for wanting to hang out with his friends for a change?"

"_Hanabishi," I snorted, "according to our previous arguments, __I'm not exactly the perfect definition of a __friend in __your dictionary."_

"That's the whole point, you see?" I could almost see him grinning his stupid grin on the other end. "I just want us to get along, don't you get it? Maybe some time to hang out will help."

I frowned. It was still utterly unreasonable, and I knew he was up to something, but I supposed going out for a change was better than brooding pointlessly and driving myself crazy with my whole damned life.

I sighed noisily into the phone. "You better make sure this brainless idea of yours won't be another waste of my time."

"Awesome! Sore dewa, let's meet at the café two blocks from school, 'kay?"

***

I folded my arms across my chest and stared heavily outside the window of the café, pretending not to hear about Hanabishi's flaming little antics and Domon's dismal wailings.

"_Woohoo!!!" Recca screamed so loudly (did I mention that his mouth was filled with cake and that whenever he began ranting, bits of his food came out of his mouth?) that all the other people turned to look at him. "Alright! I managed to gobble it all up before __you did!!!" he pointed at his now empty plate, smirking at Domon, who was too busy moaning about his grades._

I shot an extremely irritated glare at both of them out of the corner of my eye, but it didn't work out as I had expected.

"…plus there's this new stupid subject that everyone's having a hard time on…and then that stupid subject got me a bunch of failing grades! I tell you, it was terribly _dreadful_ for my _clean record…" Domon went on._

"You know," I cut in, turning to narrow my eyes at him, "if your grades stink, I'm not sure if it's quite right to blame the innocent subject."

His eyes widened. "_What did you say?!?" he began to reach out at me, but Recca pulled him back. Instead, Domon just glared at me, too and said, "__Oh, and __I suppose that __you're having __no trouble at all in school since you're always __too perfect!"___

_"Hn," I smirked evilly at him. He sure picked an awfully wrong time to snap back at me. "Piece of advice, gorilla boy, why don't you look at yourself in the mirror for a change? Maybe __then you'll see that the people around you aren't __perfect; it's __you who's just dumb enough not to __realize that bombing down big time is an unmatchable quality of yours, dimwit."_

He was practically fuming, and Recca was pulling him back for dear life. "Wait 'till I get my hands on you, Sub-Zero Boy!" Domon shouted.

_Yeah right, in your dreams, I commented, shifting my gaze back outside the window again. Why had I even agreed to Hanabishi's invitation, anyway?_

Domon had begun to calm down when Recca shouted a "hey, it's hime-san!" out loud, which snapped me out of my thoughts. Recca wouldn't have let Yanagi-san out alone, which meant that…

I slowly turned my head towards where Yanagi-san was standing, and to my bitterly cruel luck, _Fuuko was standing right beside her. Oh __great. I knew I couldn't come up with anything to tell her yet.___

Hanabishi had started talking to Yanagi-san when our eyes met, and I was disappointed to see that there were still signs of her cries this morning in them. Her blue-green eyes were on a dull color, and the moment our eyes had met, she abruptly turned away. 

And to my foul mood, I hadn't had time to realize how much emotion that hurt look had meant to tell me.

**Fuuko******

_Where are they? I pouted, looking around the café and searching of a sign of Hanabishi, Yanagi, or Domon anywhere. They had left a few minutes ago and hadn't returned yet. Which meant that I had been left to deal with Tokiya. _

I sighed and took a glance at him, who was staring down at the table for quite a while now.

I stared blankly at Hanabishi's plate, watching the remaining crumbs stay boringly in position.

After a few moments of utter silence, I sneaked another glance at him, who was now glaring out the window. Again.

_I wish we could talk comfortably again like we used to…___

And as if the heavens had wanted to keep it in my memory forever, it all popped into my mind again. The picture of him and Akira sitting together at the bench, the way he was searching for her in front of my face this afternoon…

I gripped the table napkin tightly, finding it hard to breathe again. Heaven only knew how jealous I was of her. First of all, _I had known Tokiya for a longer period of time. I had been his comrade all throughout his combats in the tournament. __I had witnessed his triumphs and failures, the unleashing of all his Hyomon Ken techniques, and even…the revelation of his past. While Akira was just…was just a schoolgirl he'd met a few days ago. __She didn't know much about him…and neither did he know much about her. Yet still…_

I blinked just to remove the tickling feeling in my eyes. I couldn't believe it. 

_Doushite…? Why choose her over me? Didn't we__ share the times when we've both been let down? Didn't you__ once pour out your emotions to me__? Didn't we seek comfort in each other's arms? And more importantly…___

_Didn't we__ share our very first kiss…?___

I leaned my head against the couch, as another painful tear escaped my eye.

**Tokiya******

_Why is she acting this way, anyway??? I bit my lip, watching her as she leaned on the couch, her head down low. __Sure, I admit I ditched her once, but that was it, right? Isn't she just taking this issue too far?_

"Fuuko…" I finally found my voice and the courage to even say her name. "How come…you're crying again…?"

She didn't even budge.

I cocked an eyebrow. Did she expect me to sink down on my knees and beg her to tell me what was wrong? Well, _sorry, but I was definitely __not in that mood right now, and I certainly didn't feel like the serenading type of guy._

"Just tell me what it is already," I commented, a flicker of irritation in my tone. I was tired of not knowing whatever else it was she was always crying about.

She jerked her head towards me as her tears started to well up. "What are you getting all mad at me for…Tokiya…?" She tried to frown. "_I_ wasn't the one who tried to break a heart."

I blinked, confused, a new flash of impatience starting to grow inside me. _I'd broken her heart? "What's __that supposed to mean?"_

**Fuuko******

I couldn't believe it. He hadn't realized what he had done. Which meant…he was never really thinking of me in the first place. I felt like I'd been stabbed right down the heart.

I closed my eyes and turned my head away from him, choosing not to speak anymore.

"…What…?" he asked again. I could almost see his brows furrowing. "I don't believe this. Can't you even tell me whatever it is that I had done?"

I kept quiet, wishing my tears would stop forcing their way out of my eyes.

He sighed. "Look, Fuuko, I don't really know what this is all about. And I'm telling you, I'm not in the mood for tolerating your stubbornness, okay?"

I gulped, forcing my sobs to calm down. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. _He'd let me down, so why was he acting all enraged at __me?_

He groaned. "For goodness' sake, Fuuko! How do you expect me to make up for it when you won't even tell me what it is?"

I sniffed. I never intended to tell him what the problem was because I expected him to know. 

_But I guess…that was never meant to happen in the first place…___

"_Damn it," he muttered and, as I would've guessed, stared out the window again._

It was about time the others came back. I flicked my eyes open, trying to rub the tears away so they wouldn't notice.

But it was clear that Yanagi knew what had happened.

"Fuuko-chan…?" she looked awkwardly at me, then at Tokiya and back.

"Let's go home, Yanagi," I mumbled, my voice coming out hoarsely. She gave me a concerned look and then gave Hanabishi a meaningful one. He immediately seated himself beside Tokiya.

"Um, why don't I finish my sandwich, first? Then, um, we can go home if you wish," Yanagi smiled encouragingly and sat down beside me.

My eyes shifted towards Domon, who was still standing, giving me the most sympathetic look I'd ever seen. I felt a small flash of gratefulness. At least _he still cared for me despite everything._

Hanabishi cleared his throat. "Say, uh, Mikagami," he nudged him. "D'ya mind telling your pal what happened…?"

Tokiya's narrowed eyes glared nastily at him. Hanabishi gave him an idiotic grin.

He sighed irritably and folded his arms across his chest, frowning. "Why don't you ask _her?" and he slightly nodded towards my direction without looking at me._

That was it. I've had enough.

"All I ask is that you please just notice me for a change!" I looked painfully at him. "Is _that too much to __ask…?" I whispered._

His eyes were still fixed on the window. "Well, _sorry…" he mumbled, a flare of annoyance on his face._

Well _I was annoyed, too, in case he hadn't noticed. "I had practically been pouring out my heart to you and you weren't even listening! All you think about is Hinageshi Akira!" I went on. I couldn't bear the pain of being ignored like this just for someone else._

He shut his eyes and began to grit his teeth.

"Why can't you even just realize that _I still exist? I mean, don't you even care about how I feel?"_

"Well _excuse me for being __insensitive," he mumbled. He actually looked like he was having a hard time trying to control himself. As if he had something to be mad about!_

"Darn right you are! Every time I turn around, everything about that blasted woman always blows up right in front of my face!"

"Sonna koto nai! Look, Fuuko, there are a _lot of things about Akira and me that you don't know, and I don't intend on telling you, not right now. So if I were you, I'd stop making all these damn conclusions that aren't even the least bit __true, get it?" he snapped._

I felt my face starting to grow hot. How dare he comment about "Akira and him" in an oh-so-casual manner!

"And just what _are those things that I __don't know?!? Perhaps maybe the fact that you're ditching me just so you could hang out with her? Or maybe the fact that you're practically going out with her behind my back? Or the fact that she's on your mind 24/7 and you can't even listen to any of my problems anymore?!?" _

"Oh, is that right? I'm _so __sorry, Fuuko," he cut in, his eyes finally flicking abruptly towards me. Yet there was something wrong with the way his light blue eyes shone this time…_

"I _completely forgot that you are the only person on __earth who has her own __problems," he went on sarcastically. "Pardon me while I stick to you like a puppy and hang on to your every word."_

I held a silent gasp. Tokiya had _never spoken to me in that tone; much less use those kinds of words on me. And obviously, this got me even more infuriated. "What the heck's __that supposed to mean?!?"_

He didn't take his annoyed look off me. "Why don't you try and ask yourself?"

"_What?!?" I leaned closer to the table. "Just __what is it with you and your damn cold personality? Why can't you be a little more like everybody else for once?"  _

"That's none of your damn business!!!"

"Oh, and I suppose you simply _love being the typical lone loser, don't you?!?"_

"If you'd like to know, Fuuko, I've managed to be a '_lone loser' for more than seven years now and I can manage perfectly __fine without __you breathing down my neck to tell me how to be a more sociable guy!" he snapped._

"Oh, for crying out loud, Tokiya!" I clenched my own trembling fist. "Don't you have _any idea how __hard I'm trying to help you?" _

"_Help me?" he snorted, smirking. "__Help me??? Oh __please. Sure, go ahead and change my whole personality, Fuuko. I __really don't mind having someone barge into my life to try and change my __freakin' past, you know."_

I stood up, breathing heavily and glaring down at him. All the pain he'd caused me was fast turning into fury. "I _never tried to change your__ past!!!" _

"Then _what exactly do you call whatever it is you're __doing right__ now?!?__" he glared back up at me._

I could now feel my tears welling up in anger this time. "I'm just _trying to help you become a better person! Why can't you open your eyes and __see that?!?"_

"Well, if a _better person is what you need, then why don't you go __look for __somebody else?!?" he stood up to face me as well._

It was at those words that I felt the air being sucked out of my chest. I found it hard to breathe, and the tears I'd been desperately trying to hold back blurred my eyes. I knew everyone in the café was looking at us, but I didn't care. Never had I felt so hurt in my life. It wasn't his harsh words; it wasn't his cold glare. The fact that hurt the most was that it had come from_ him. He was the one who directed those words at me. And he'd hurt me more than anything else in the world._

"T-Tokiya…" I sobbed, my lips trembling.  

"…" his eyes softened a bit, and I knew that he found it hard to find the right words to say.

Because I felt _exactly the same way. _

All at once I knew what I had to do.

"…You know…maybe I should," With another hurt look at him, I left and stormed away down the street, letting my tears fall and tear myself apart.

All my life I had thought that loving someone could give you strength and happiness to live through each troubled day. I saw that particular strength between Hanabishi and Yanagi. 

But I had forgotten about the pain it could also bring.

I should never have told Tokiya how I felt for him many nights ago. I shouldn't have succumbed to him when he tried to kiss me back that night. I should have known better than to get together with such an insensitive jerk. 

He was never known for his compassion and sense of humor; that much was evident to everyone. Nobody ever wanted to get too close to him.

I should have listened to them.

They were right.

***

"Gimme another round, will ya?" I hiccupped, calling out to the bartender. "En make it quick!"

"Uh…are you sure you still want another one, miss…?" he asked worriedly. 

I frowned at him. "When I say I _want another one, it means I __want another one, __okay? Can't ya hear?"_

"Whatever you say…" and he disappeared around the back of the counter.

"You're pretty tough, girlie. You used to bars?" one of the men at the only table that was occupied at the bar that night asked me.

"'Course I am! Darn guys at school don't call me tomboy for nothin' ya know," I hiccupped again.

"Oh yeah?" another one of them smirked. "Bet ya can't drink more than _we can, missie," he winked at the other two at his table and they snickered. "So what d'you say?"_

I grinned, staggering over to their table. "You're on, pal!"

***

I groaned a few minutes later, and my stomach was practically turning upside-down. Everything around me was spinning, and aside from that, everything was going hazy, too.

"D'ya--*hic*--give up?" one of the guys asked.

My only reply was to take the hundredth bottle on the table and chug its contents down with one gulp. And the next thing I knew was that I'd dropped, lying down the couch I was sitting on.

"Ooooh…" I moaned again, feeling like my head was about to explode. My eyes shut close, but even the complete darkness was spinning.

I could hear laughter around me, and I must've lost my consciousness, because…

…

…

…

I moaned, the dizziness still flooding my brain. But then something touched my shoulder, and my skin tingled. It slowly moved up to my neck, to my chin, to my cheek…

I heavily opened my eyes, and I saw a vague picture of a pair of turquoise eyes, blinking sweetly at me, until his lips met mine.

"Mi-chan…" I whispered and gave another moan of pleasure, closing my eyes, letting him kiss me...over...and over...again...

…

…

…

"_Fuuko!!!" I could hear a familiar shout in the faint background, as a door slammed open somewhere._

"Who the _heck are you, boy?!?"_

"That's none of your damned business! Now get the _crap outta here before I fry you all to a crisp!"_

"Yeah? You and what army?"

"Me and _this," the voice said, and sudden warmth swept over my surroundings. And accompanied by shrieks and screams, I heard footsteps running away._

"Fuuko!" someone ran to me but stopped short. "Oh _damn!" _

"…Mi-chan…" I whispered absently again, still groaning.

"_What?!?" the voice exclaimed. I felt a slap on my cheek and a shake on my shoulders. "Wake __up, Fuuko!"_

"Uhhh…" I moaned again, unable to flick my eyes open.

"Um…Fuuko…? Forgive me for this, okay…? I sure hope Mikagami forgives me, too…" the person gulped. "I'm so sorry…but I have to do this…"

I could feel his hands at my legs…then at my shoulders…at my waist…and finally at my neck. I had _completely no idea what he was doing, or __who he even was._

"Um…let's just go, okay…?" he carried me up from where I was, and the next thing I knew I was leaving the place wherever I was.

***

"Ugh…" I whimpered, forcing myself to open my heavy eyes. The first thing I saw was an orange cap…

"Fuuko? You're awake?" the boy turned to me, smiling with relief.

"H-Hanabishi…? What…where…"

"You were drinking yourself to death back at that bar with some men you didn't even know," he looked at me worriedly. "Don't you know that people like them are up to no good? They were taking advantage of your drunken condition," he frowned at the memory. "You're lucky I came in at the right moment."

I blinked, trying to focus on his face but couldn't. It took me a few moments to realize that he was carrying me.

All of a sudden, his face turned bright red, and he was looking at me with uncertainty. "They, um, left you in your underwear, Fuuko. I hope you don't, um, mind that I…that I helped you put your clothes on," he went on, blushing furiously.

A feeling of warmth enveloped me and I had never felt so grateful in my entire life. I was glad I had him as a friend.

"…Arigato…sempai…" I smiled at him, leaning my head on his chest and shutting my eyes back closed, falling fast asleep.


	6. True Parting Does Not Need a Goodbye

PART FIVE True Parting Does Not Need a Goodbye 

Tokiya 

             Tokiya,

            I've seen your sister a couple of times now. I know everything about her, actually, just like I know everything about you. Don't ask me how. I suppose that would pretty much tell you how nosy I am, huh? So anyway, I had been walking down the street towards the university not too long ago when I had heard someone singing melodiously somewhere near the old abandoned warehouse. Obviously, I followed wherever it was coming from just like anyone else would if they'd heard such a lovely melody. I have to admit, she sure sings well. And true enough, it led me behind that old, barricaded shack everyone kept saying was the hideout of something ridiculously stupid. Some rumor, huh? I never really believed it. Anyway, there was this spacious kind of bodega hidden behind some old trees, and as weird as it could've been, the song was coming from in there. I tried to come closer so I could step inside, but then all of a sudden some guy came and I was made to hide for a while. The guy went inside and the song stopped. Curious, I tried to clear away the disgustingly huge amount of dirt on the almost broken windows, and I could make out a silhouette of a woman in a few chains at the far end of the wall. The guy gave her something to eat and left. When she moved into the light a bit to try and reach her food, I saw her face. It was your sister. As much as I had wanted to get her out of the stinking place, I knew I couldn't. At that time, I hadn't known it was your sister, so who knew if I was interfering with something if I came and rescued her? So all I could do was stop by for a while every other day to at least check if she was still okay. And according to my observations, that food guy comes every noon and at around 9:00 pm only. She must be awfully thin by now…

Well, I suggest you go over there tonight. Midnight perhaps, just to make sure that guy doesn't show up.

That's really all, Tokiya dear. Sorry if I'd kept all this from you for too long. Good luck.

                                                                                                                                              Akira

I frowned, staring at the letter on my hand. _That, was the lamest, weirdest, most ridiculous and most unreasonable story I had ever heard.   _

Who would be keeping my sister? We never had anyone but each other.

Could it have been Meguri-sama?

But that was absurd; why would he be keeping her alive if he had wanted her dead in the first place? Besides, Meguri wasn't living anywhere near this town. At least, that's what I had known.

So then, who would've--

The ring of the phone made me snap out of my thoughts and jerk a little backwards. I stared at it irritably. But then…

Was it Hinageshi, calling to tell me something a little more convincing?

I tossed the letter on the bedside table and grabbed the receiver. "Yeah?"

"Mikagami…? It's me, Recca..."

My eyes widened and my heart practically died at his next words. All at once I dropped the receiver and hurried out the door, Hanabishi's words still lingering in my thoughts.

_'Fuuko's at the hospital.'___

***

I placed my hands behind my head, leaning back on my chair and staring at the dark clouds outside the hospital window. I glanced up at the wall clock. 11:45.

My eyes flicked towards the corner of the room, where Hanabishi was dozing off with a sleeping Yanagi cuddled beside him on another chair. Recca was snoring practically loud enough to wake the dead. It was surprising that Yanagi-san could even sleep.

I snorted. _Stupid idiot.___

Yet still…it was he who had run after Fuuko after the incident at the café. According to his narration a while back, it was he who had come in at the bar just in time. It was he who had saved Fuuko from being harassed. It was he who had helped her put her clothes back on, and who had brought her to the hospital. And it was he who had informed me about it.

All in all, I supposed he wasn't too bad, after all.

I looked back down at Fuuko on the bed beside my chair. She was still unconscious, and there was a slight streak of a pinkish blush on her face. She really must have drunk too much alcohol. Too bad Yanagi couldn't do anything about it, considering she could only heal wounds, not unconsciousness.

I swore silently, blaming my own insensitivity. If I hadn't burst out on Fuuko at the café…she wouldn't have…

_Kuso...___

I looked back at her, admiring the beauty of her face even if she was asleep. I never really wanted her to go find someone else; she meant everything to me and she was all that I had now. I couldn't live knowing she was with another and that I'd blown my chances with her. I knew I couldn't bear to see that.

And it took me too long and too late to realize that she had felt the same way. I shouldn't have been following Akira for information too much. Too bad I had been blind enough not to realize that she might've been jealous. Too bad I'd already hurt her feelings by the time I saw what was happening. 

I sighed. _Fuuko…___

There was another flash of lightning, followed by a roaring roll of thunder. The weather was obviously getting even worse than it had been before I had gotten here a few hours ago. But despite the racket the storm was making, the clock made a small chime that caught my attention.

12:00. 

It was time for me to go.

I pulled up the covers that Fuuko had unintentionally removed in her sleep towards her, and took the towel on her forehead, dipped it in the basin, squeezed some of the water out, and placed it back on her forehead. I rubbed her cheek gently, feeling terrible that I had to leave her alone and that she'd wake up thinking I had never come to see her.

I sighed again. At least, this way, she wouldn't be able to follow me to where oneechan was.

I bent down and kissed her head lightly, hoping impossibly that she was aware of it.  

_Aishiteru, Fuuko, I glanced sadly down at her._

_If only you knew that…___

**Fuuko******

I woke up with a start, jerking up in bed, a wet towel falling down from my forehead. My fingers flew to my cheek, as I searched around the room.

My heart dropped, seeing that the only people here were Hanabishi and Yanagi. _I could've sworn Mi-chan was here...I looked at the door disappointedly__, but I guess it was only a dream...___

I sighed and glanced at the clock. 12:05. 

Tokiya didn't even bother to come. He didn't even bother to see if I was alright. He didn't even bother. He didn't even care.

I wrapped my arms around my knees, hugging them closer to my chest. I felt shaken and hurt even more.

But my body was feeling a little better, although my head was still spinning a bit. I would prove to him that I had managed to recover only with the help of Hanabishi and Yanagi. And _without his. This was my only way of somehow keeping my pride._

No matter how much it got to me that he didn't even show up.

My eyes began to well up, and I shook the tears away. I didn't want to shed tears for him anymore. I forced myself to just look out the window and try to forget everything.

But it made me _remember him even more._

Because he was right there, walking down the sidewalk, out in the rain.

My eyes widened. All the pain and the anger washed away from me. Right now all I could think of was: _he could get sick out in the rain like that!___

I immediately jumped out of bed, said a silent 'I'll be right back' to Hanabishi and Yanagi, dashed out the room, down the elevator (ignoring the nurse who was insisting that I go right back to my bed), grabbed one of the umbrellas on the umbrella rack by the entrance and out the hospital doors. I caught sight of him just before he was able to round on the corner.

"Mi-chan!" I called, catching up with him. He didn't even stop.

I ran towards him and slowed down when he was at least a foot away. He still hadn't turned around and was still walking, his head down and his hands in his pockets.

"Mi-chan...?"

All of a sudden he spoke up.

"Go back, Fuuko."

"I can't go back if you're out here! What are you doing out in the rain, anyway?" I asked.

"Go back inside. Don't get me worried."

I stared at his back, frowning. "If _you're worried, I am too, okay? So let's--"_

"Don't argue with me, Fuuko. There's some place I have to go to. Go back. Now."

I stopped walking and stared at him. "Some place...you have to...go...?" I frowned, a lump forming at my throat. This couldn't have had anything to do with _Akira, had it...? "Some place...that's more...important... than visiting me to see if I was okay...?" _

He stopped walking.

_Akira, Akira, Akira...why was it always her...? "At this hour of the night...at this weather...there's another place you'd rather go to than visit me...?" I managed to say, as my chest began to tighten. _

He was still looking down, his back to me.

"And...to...to think that I was _worrying about you...wanting you to come back inside with me..." I began to sob, slowly walking towards him one step at a time._

"To think...I wished like _crazy that you would come see me...only...only to wake up and...and find you not there..." I cried, finding it hard to breathe as I stopped walking right behind him._

"But I guess...visiting me...never even...crossed...your mind..." my voice trailed off, and the tears I'd been holding back finally poured out. The next thing I knew I was sobbing like crazy.

"I just don't understand…I tried to forget…I tried so hard to forget, but I just…" I paused. "What's...what's wrong, Tokiya...? What happened...? After all this time we've been together…didn't we use to enjoy it…? Everything always went well…so…what could've gone wrong…?" I stepped closer still and leaned my head against his back, sobbing. "Please tell me, Tokiya…" I whispered. "Please…I want everything to go back the way they used to be…" 

Slowly, he turned around and lifted my chin to face him. I watched as he bent down and kissed me, making me sob even harder.

I dropped the umbrella, and the rain started to pour on my face, mixing with my tears. I was still crying, although I tried to close my eyes. I could feel his hands slowly moving up to cup my cheeks, as he pulled me closer to him. He was kissing me. He was kissing me again like he used to. It was what I had been waiting for all this time...but somehow...it couldn't take the pain away. Not anymore.

He stopped and opened his eyes. His face was still close to mine; I could feel his breath on my face. His hand was still on my cheek, and I was still crying. It was still there. The hurt was still there. And I couldn't bear it.

"I love you, Fuuko," he whispered, looking straight into my eyes. It only made me cry even more.

"You...love me...? How can you say that you do...when you don't even care about my condition...? You can't even try to understand how I've always felt..." I cried.

"I'm sorry…" he went on. I couldn't help but notice that he was looking at me in a different way. I gazed into his eyes, and saw that the usual glint of indifference wasn't there at all. His eyes were a pool of sadness…deeper sadness that can never be changed…or released…for as long as the nightmare of his past was haunting him…scarring his inner soul. He was also speaking in a different tone; so calm yet perishing in agony, so gentle yet aching, as if his voice was reflecting every tragedy he had witnessed in his childhood. 

"…" I kept my gaze, ignoring the tears and the rainwater that was flooding my eyes.

"Fuuko…I'm sorry…" he repeated in a low and gentle voice, "But after everything that's been bothering me…after every nightmare I desperately tried to forget…just for you…everything about my sister…" he trailed off. "I just can't tuck it all away. It always came back to haunt me again…I did everything I could to concentrate my life in protecting you…being by your side and making you happy…because you're all that I have, Fuuko…but…" he hesitated. "You have to understand…it's hard to put things back the way they were…"

Tokiya… 

"I know I haven't been the best guy a girl could ever have," he continued, looking at me seriously with those turquoise orbs I had never before been able to resist. "So I'm asking you…please forget about me."

I looked away from him. After all the pain he'd caused me...was letting him go worth the price of never getting hurt again...? No... I still couldn't bear to live without him...seeing him leave would only cause me even more pain...

No...

I couldn't let him go...

"Please, Fuuko. I can't be the right guy for you because you deserve someone better. Someone who would always be there for you whenever you need him. Someone who has more time for you. Someone who doesn't have a past to get in the way. And I know I can't be that person because I can't live up to those expectations."

_No...please...please don't break up with me...___

"So I'm just wishing you the best in your life." He gave me one, last smile_.___

_"Sayonara, Fuuko-chan__." _

_No..._

And with this, he removed his warm hand from my cheek and began to walk away, without saying any more.

I wanted to run after him...reach out and take him back...make him smile at me again...call out his name...tell him that I loved him more than anything in this world...

But I couldn't...

I just couldn't...__

_Tokiya...___

The tears had stopped falling, and I had stopped sobbing. The pain was gone. My life was gone.

I stood there on the sidewalk, drenched, as I watched him walk away from me.

Out of my sight...

Out of my life.

He was gone.  


	7. Now and Then the Past and Present

PART SIX Now and Then; the Past and Present Tokiya 

I stopped right outside the abandoned bodega, finally lifting my head to look at it. Lightning was still flashing madly, and the rain was worse than ever. Which was a pretty good thing. It matched exactly how I felt then.

I placed my hand on the wooden doors, pausing, deciding whether or not I should go on inside.

After breaking up with Fuuko, I had tried not to look back and did what I could to get her off my mind. I had believed it to be for the best, but now I wasn't too sure. Because it was hard to accept the fact that Fuuko wasn't my koibito anymore.

I shook my head. _Forget about your so-called relationship, I commanded myself. __You've chosen not to look back, so why hesitate now? You've gone this far, and you've got nothing left to do but to go further.___

_Besides, you've got no one to come back to anymore, so you might as well...___

I sighed and pushed the doors open.

Everything was pitch-black except for the flashes of lightning illuminating a small part of the bodega through the only window. Yet there was something glistening at the far end of the large, empty space...__

It was a chain...a fairly long and heavy chain...wrapped around someone's wrists...someone vaguely familiar...

A flash of lightning told me everything I needed to know. From her long brown locks to her slender body, I knew it was she.

Mifuyu.

My sister.

She was alive.

I stood there, frozen with shock, staring at her, still unable to take in the fact that she was right there, _breathing. She was right there. She was right there..._

Slowly, she raised her weary head and spotted me. At the sight of her face, an uncontrollable tear fell from my eye. Her once bright eyes had become darker, and her once pink, healthy cheeks were now thinning. She had become older, but she still Mifuyu. She was still my beloved sister whom I had known all my life...My beloved sister whom I had been yearning to see again so badly...

"Oneesan..." I whispered. I took the handle of the Ensui and pointed it at the doors. Pretty soon, water from the puddles outside gathered to form its blade.

"Tokiya...?"

"Oneesan...!" I ran to her side and slashed the chains that were binding her to the wall. She fell forward and sat on the ground.

"Tokiya..." she smiled at me, as tears came pouring down her cheeks.

"Oneesan..." I knelt down, finding it hard to believe that I was actually _talking to her..._

"Oh...Tokiya..." she flung her arms around my neck and gave me a hug. "I'm so glad you're doing well...after all these years..."

I slowly wrapped my arms around her as well, closing my eyes, never more thankful to have her with me again.

"You've grown up so well..." she sobbed, letting go. "And your hair...!" she chuckled softly.

There was nothing I could do but smile at her like I hadn't done so in years. I stayed there, speechless, as she continued to scan me up and down.

"Oh, Tokiya...I thought I'd never..." her lips began to tremble again, but she forced a smile. "Look at how handsome you've become...I bet every girl in school is dying to go on a date with you!" she grinned happily, slightly tilting her head.

But...her neck...

My smile faltered. There was something about her neck...

Her hand reached out to touch my cheek. "And I could tell you've been really healthy! Is someone taking care of you now...? Is there a special someone...?" She was still smiling. 

I couldn't get any words out. There was something different about the way she talked...

She placed her arms around my neck and stopped smiling. "You've grown up to be a handsome young man, Tokiya...a cute guy..." she trailed off, and all of a sudden she was---

_Kissing me...?_

My eyes widened and I immediately pushed her away, standing up and pointing my Ensui at her.

"Who...the _heck...are you...?!?" I panted, glaring down at her.___

Her shoulders began to shake; her head began to move. She was chuckling, laughing. And it got louder every second, until she was laughing her head off.

"What the--" My brows furrowed, as I kept pointing the Ensui at her. _Has she gone mad...?___

"Oh, you are _such a fool, Tokiya," she looked slyly at me, still laughing._

I kept my position.

"And they call _you the smartest of Hanabishi's team," she finally stopped cackling and began to stand up. "Why, you can't even tell what's an illusion and what's real!" Something at her neck began to shine._

A Psychic Device.

It was a pendant.

_Iie...My eyes widened as realization dawned on me._

She caught my surprised look and started to laugh like crazy again. "That's right, Tokiya, that's right..."

Suddenly everything around me was spinning. Everything was blurring away. My hand flew to my forehead, as I shut my eyes and shook my head. The world seemed to be turning upside-down...mixing her laughter with everything else...

And then it all stopped. I opened my eyes to find a woman, whose arms were wrapped in chains, smirking at me.

A woman with long crimson hair.               

A woman by the name of Hinageshi Akira.

I stared at her. "Nani..."

"Surprise," she gushed, batting her eyelashes at me.

"What are you---"

"_I," she grinned, "am a master of illusions, in case you haven't __noticed. I can dive into the mind of anyone I've spent enough time with and create all sorts of illusions on them. I can even create __dreams for them!" she chortled._

"Masaka..."

She rolled her eyes. "Everything was a set up, duh," she said. 

"Every single thing about my sister..." I tightened my grip on the Ensui. "...was all a lie...?"

She nodded triumphantly. "Uh-huh, every single thing."

My grip tightened even more and I started to clench my teeth. "It was all a _damn lie...?!?"_

She grinned at me. "Worked well, didn't it?"

_All the nightmares...that time at the school pond...all the trouble I went through...giving Fuuko so much pain...Fuuko..."Damn you, you witch!"_

"Now, now, let's watch our language, shall we?"

I glared furiously at her. "What the _heck did you run me around like damn __pawn for?!?"_

She shrugged. "I just wanted to kill you," she began to frown at me. "The same way you killed my brother."

"_What!!!" _

"I also swore to avenge his death, Tokiya, dear. Just like you did." She raised her arms and the chains released them on their own, wrapping only their ends around her wrists so that she had a grip of them. She smiled. "Payback..." she sang out, and pointed her fingers at me. All at once the chains stretched out towards my direction.

"!!!" I jumped aside to avoid the front attack, but the chains turned and came from behind, knocking me off guard and down the floor.

I straightened up and rubbed the blood off my lips, staring blazingly at her.

She withdrew the chains and smiled. "Didn't expect me to be carrying _two Psychic Devices, oh Wise One?" Her pendant shone. She pointed at it. "From my mom." She raised her arm and the chains jingled. "From my dad." She grinned slyly. "I killed them both." She caressed her Psychic Devices pleasantly.  "Nice prices, ne?" _

"You're an unmistakable freak of nature."

She cocked her brow and chuckled. "Right. Do you want me to elaborate on that, dear?"

"Hn," I smirked at her. "Save your breath, Akira. You'll need it so you won't dry up in hell!!!" I jumped forward and plunged my blade right into her heart, but then everything started to spin again and the next thing I knew I was thrown back down on the ground. She had been right behind me.

She laughed loudly again. "You still can't see through an illusion? I guess now you're not as tough as you were when you killed my brother!"

I groaned as I stood up, staggering slightly at the chains' heavy blows. "Just what the _heck did I have to do with your brother?!?"_

All of a sudden the chains began to wrap around my neck, slowly cutting off my supply of air. I winced, grasping the chains and pulling them off with all my might. And then she pulled the chains towards her, making me dangle in mid-air right in front of her.

"...what..." I tried to speak, but she glared at me and tightened the chains, causing blood to pour out of my mouth.

"It was all because of your wretched existence, Mikagami Tokiya. The so-called potential you had in your damned Ensui," she was scowling, and at each word she said, she tightened the chains around my neck. "If _you hadn't existed, my __brother could've been taught the Hyomon Ken techniques without any trouble at all!!!"_

I coughed out some more blood, desperately struggling for air. _Her brother...Hyomon Ken techniques...?_

"My _brother could've been Master! He wouldn't have been thrown around as a __replacement! He wouldn't have joined that blasted Uruja just to __see you!!!" She was fuming._

_Uruja...replacement...no...it can't be...it can't be him...___

"_Then he wouldn't have died!!! He could've lived a happy life with me...!"_

"..." My body was shaking, and I was running on empty...I had to do it...

_Here we go..._

"It was all because of _you!!! Damn it!!!" She tightened the chains with everything she had, just in time for me to use the same trick I had used on Koganei a long time ago..._

Her chains squeezed noting but water and I hurriedly appeared behind her. I raised my sword to attack but she had turned around and blocked it with her chains, throwing me off across the room.

_She's too damn fast...I managed to reach the floor standing up, panting._

She turned to glare at me furiously, and sent her chains to attack me again from every direction.

"That stupid technique won't work on me, you fool! I've watched your match with Kai-neesan long enough to learn your techniques!" She persisted, thrusting her chains at me.

"I didn't _kill your brother! He chose to die himself!" I panted, jumping off in every direction just to block her attacks._

"He _wanted to die because of you!!! He couldn't __live knowing there was a better Hyomon Ken master than him!!!" she shrieked, her every attack growing stronger. "You ruined everything!!! __Every single thing!!! You ruined my one chance of living peacefully with him!!! You ruined that single hope in my life to live happily for once!!! And I'll __kill you for that! Aaaahh!!!" She pointed both her arms in my direction and all the chains came charging at once._

I jumped up and stepped on a chain, using it to get within a closer range of her.

"Icicle Flow!" I plunged the Ensui on one of her chains, attempting to freeze it.

"Nandatou?!?" _The icicles dispersed...?___

"That won't work as long as I'm aware of it!" Akira laughed and flung the other chain at me again, but this time, I had managed to dodge it and land back down on the ground.

"Too bad your so-called strategy didn't work!" she chuckled madly.

I held up my Ensui. "Mizu Hebi!!!"

"Ja ne!" She held up two fingers at me and disappeared.

Just as the doors flew open. 

Revealing a panting Fuuko at the doorway--

--with the water snake coming right at her!

"_Fuuko!!!" _

Her eyes widened and she jumped aside. The snake wrecked the huge doors and brought down a tree outside.

Fuuko turned to look at me.

I frowned. "What are you--"

"Forgot about me?" Akira had reappeared behind me and she caught my neck again, successfully throwing me across the room and hitting me against the wall with a loud smack. "Ugh..." The tie around my hair went loose, and more blood made its way out of my mouth as I slowly slid down to the ground.

"_Tokiya!!!" Fuuko gasped, then turned to look at Akira, confused._

Akira's sly smile widened. "Irasshaimase, Fuuko-chan," she purred. "Glad you could make it to Tokiya-kun's deathday party."

Fuuko frowned. "I don't understand why you're doing this, Hinageshi, but I'm going to make you pay for that..." She raised her arm and focused it on Akira. "_Fuujin!!!"___

Blasts of wind came soaring towards Akira, but she merely avoided them all, stepping closer and closer to Fuuko with each wind blade she dodged, until she was face to face with her.

Akira beamed.

She was up to something; I knew it...

"Fuuko_..." I struggled to stand up__, but the impact of hitting the wall somehow broke my leg._

"Fuuko!" I repeated, " Get out of the way!"

"Wha--" Fuuko's eyes widened as she tried to move away, but she was a second too late. Akira had wrapped her chains around both of Fuuko's arms, wringing the Fuujin out of her wrist. But 

Fuuko summoned another one of those whirlwinds she had created before when Kagerou first gave the madougu to her, and wrapped the whirlwind around them both, trying to cut off Akira's air.

_And hers as well._

"_Fuuko!!! What the heck do you think you're doing?!?" I fumed, staring hard at the cyclone of wind._

Akira was screaming, and in her anger, began to squeeze Fuuko's neck with her chain, too. But Fuuko merely smiled at me. "This...is...your chance...Mi...chan..."

"Fuuko! Stop this cyclone! _Now!" I forced myself to stand up. __Ugh, I winced and glared down at my own broken leg. It was bleeding because I was balancing myself with it. __Blasted leg..._

I limped towards the wind. "Listen to me, Fuuko! This is not your fight!"

She smiled again, and her eyes began to shut close.

_Damn! I looked up at the top of the whirlwind. There was no way I could go up and jump in from the center; it was way too high. I'd need Domon to push me up to be able to do that._

_So...___

I closed my eyes and struck the Ensui on the floor. "Tsurara Mai!!!"

All at once the icicles I summoned came rising from the ground and falling from the roof, moving in different directions. And just as I had planned, some of them came from under the cyclone and helped Akira's chain remove the Fuujin from Fuuko's arm, causing the whirlwind to cease.

Akira's other chain let go of Fuuko's neck, and she knocked off all the icicles with it, while Fuuko fell limply on the ground. 

I ceased the icicles and painfully ran towards her, lifting her head to face me. "Fuuko!" I tried to give her a little shake. "Fuuko!" 

She remained unconscious.

I took her wrist and felt her pulse. It was barely beating.

I leaned her against the wall and placed the Fuujin back on her wrist.

"Gomen nasai, Fuuko-chan..." I whispered, "Gomen nasai..."

I turned around at Akira, clenching my fist and gripping my Ensui tightly, a new feeling arising inside of me. I wasn't going to fight her just to defend myself anymore. Right now I was darn right _pissed off._

Akira smiled evilly. "Getting all hot now, aren't we?"

My eyes were burning. "_Damn you..."_

"Good, good! I should've _known you needed motivation. Just like you did when your sister died, ne? D'you think maybe I should kill Fuuko, too?"_

"_Shut the hell up!!!" I charged at her, trying to thrust my sword at her heart with every chance I got._

"Excellent!" she beamed, dodging my every attempt to kill her.

"_Shii-ne!!!" I plunged the Ensui straight at her, but only managing to scratch her arm._

She scowled. "_You die!" She whipped the Ensui and made me hit the wall again, letting the Ensui slip off my hand. It plunged right into the floor._

"Uh..." I flinched, clutching my left arm. It had hit the wall and was now bleeding.

"Pay for my brother's death!" Akira shouted, hitting me again and again with her chains, as I sat floppily against the wall. "Pay for it, Tokiya!" 

She had hit me from the left. 

"The price is your damn life!" 

From the right.

"Die!!!"

Left...

"Die right now!!!"  
  


Right...

_Slash!_

Left...

_Slash!_

Right...

_Slash!_

Left...

_Slash!_

Right... 

It was the same thing...

_Over and over again..._

My eyes felt heavy, and my whole body felt numb. By now I couldn't even feel my heartbeat, not even the pain of my broken limbs.

_Am I going to...die...?___

My eyelids were slowly sliding down...It was so tempting to just shut them close and end all the futility of struggling to survive...

My eyes caught sight of the girl sitting half-dead against the wall right across from me.

And then...

*_FLASH*_

_"I don't believe this," a girl with purplish hair scowled, tying a piece of cloth around the arm of her friend.___

_The guy merely raised his eyebrow and looked at her, letting her put the temporary bandage on his bleeding arm. The girl looked up at him. "That's not fair!" she frowned and pointed a blaming finger at him. "You just don't want to end up battling with a girl, so you faked about this small injury and gave the match to Hanabishi!"___

_The guy cocked his head and his eyes widened at her words, searching for something harsh to snap back. But something about the way the girl looked at him made him decide to keep his mouth shut.___

After all_, the guy thought, she's just a girl__.___

_*FLASH*___

_"Aw, sheesh, Mi-chan! Are you out of your mind?!? What was with the "chan" thing?" the purple-haired girl frowned at the boy questioningly.___

_"Hn, not that you should know," the boy looked away from her. _

_"Alright, alright! Don't get all grouchy on me, too," the girl looked up at the boy with the best puppy-dog-look she could muster.___

_The boy glared more coldly back at her, then sighed after about a minute.___

_"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry, alright?!? There, I said the 's' word! You happy now, Fuuko?!?"___

_"Ha! Apology accepted!" she said smugly. "Works every time."___

_"Don't get too cocky."___

_"Well, it's true, isn't it? I, Kirisawa Fuuko, made the touchy Mikagami Tokiya apologize!!!" she laughed like crazy.___

_"Shut up," the boy grumbled.___

_The girl named Fuuko piped down and performed her eye trick again.___

_"That's it!!! You're worse than the girls from the shop!!! I'm going back in there," the boy named Tokiya turned to go back inside.___

_"Wait, Freezer Boy!" she grasped his shoulder.___

_"Darn it!!! It hurts, don't you get it?!? Have you been taking lessons from Ken or something?!? And what's with the repulsive 'freezer boy' thing?!? Has it ever crossed your microscopic mind that I have a name, too???" he pulled his shoulder away, getting more and more irritated by the minute.___

_She stifled a giggle. "Gomen nasai…"___

_He folded his arms across his chest. All of a sudden the girl saw the cut on his shoulder, and started worrying about it.___

_"M-Mi-chan…what…what happened to that?" she pointed to it. ___

_He looked away from her. "None of your damned business."___

_"But…Tokiya…it's a really big cut, and---"___

_"What the heck do you want to talk about, anyway?!?" he snapped, annoyed all the more.___

_Finally, the girl's features turned serious. "It's about your job here in the shop."___

_"Well, what about it?!?" he prompted. "It's just my first day here, okay? So if you think I made any mista---"___

_"No, no, it's not that," she looked at the sidewalk. "It's just that, I've heard about these guys you work with. They're…they're assassins, if you don't know, and---"___

_"You know they're assassins? How did you find out?" he asked, surprised.___

_"I've heard about that, okay? But that's not my point," she said, still not looking at him.___

_"Well, what is?!?" The boy began to lose his patience.___

_"Tokiya…" she said, this time facing him. "Just answer me this one question."___

_"Spill it, Fuuko. I don't have all day."___

_She didn't tear her eyes away. "Why did you want to leave Hokage?"___

_The boy hesitated.___

_"Hn, that's not your concern. Besides, it doesn't really matter anyway," he responded.___

_"Tokiya, it is my concern and it does matter!" ___

_The boy frowned. "Don't you notice how many times Hanabishi and I fight nowadays? It never stops! Hanabishi is just a pure, damn jerk. And to him, I'm a jerk, too. Well, I'm cool with that. But just think about how it will be. Every time we need to defeat someone, he would get in my way and I'd get in his way. We won't get along. You said it yourself yesterday. We'd just lose just like how we almost did with Neon back in the tournament. So I guess I figured it was for the best for---"___

_"No, it's not for the best! That must be how you are with Hanabishi, but how about with Domon? With Koganei? With Yanagi? With…with me?" she reasoned softly.___

_The boy stood there, looking at her, taken aback. He couldn't bring himself to reply.___

_*FLASH*___

_The boy's eyes widened, stunned at the unexpected gesture. The girl was kissing him, and he hadn't even known it.___

_At first the boy was swearing silently to himself, cursing his so-called friend for doing this.___

_And then all of sudden, he realized that he was enjoying this. He was enjoying every single second of it. It came over him that kissing her just felt so right...___

_And, surprising even himself, he unknowingly pulled her closer and responded to the kiss. The girl didn't seem to mind.___

_But it ended soon enough.___

_They both sat there, staring at each other, unable to find the right words to say.___

_Until the boy found his voice.___

_"Fuuko, sumimasen, I didn't mean--"___

_The girl placed her finger over his lips, telling him to stop.___

_"I… like you a lot, Tokiya. I always have. A lot of people don't see me as the kind of girl who would ever fall for anyone…and believe me, I thought that's how I am, too, but then…it's you…" she locked her gaze on his, though difficult it may be for her. "I never did get around to telling you all of this. I thought that if I did you wouldn't speak to me like you'd use to or something, because…I never thought you'd feel the same way I feel about you," she said softly. "You've always been different from Hanabishi and the others. They were really outgoing and wild. You were always too quiet, too distant, and I have to admit that at first I didn't think I'd be able to get along well with you. At least that's what everyone thought. But the more we went on with our matches, the more I felt attached to you, and…when I discovered the other side of your personality…the sweet and sensible side…I knew…you weren't whom everyone thought you were. You're not just some silent loner who never wants to socialize with other people. You're not like that at all. There's a reason behind your sadness, and I understood that. I understood that once you get past the cold outer personality, there's something different inside. You're a wonderful person, Tokiya. You're always concerned about your friends although you might not show it. Another guy is behind all your loneliness. There's someone behind your frown, behind your wistful eyes, your sharp words…You have a good heart. You might not show it, but I know you do. That's what I like about you so much…" she whispered.___

_The boy stared back at her, wordless at her revelation.___

_She looked away, her face burning, and began to straighten up. "Gomen, Tokiya. You should just get some rest. Sorry for involving you in this," she started to hop out of the bed, her voice quivering in embarrassment.___

_"Fuuko, w-wait," the boy grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her back. She looked back at him, puzzled.___

_The boy looked into her eyes, hesitating for a moment. And then he pulled her close and gave her another kiss.___

_It was what he had always wanted after all.___

_*FLASH*___

_"I'm sorry I haven't been the best guy a girl could ever have," the boy looked wistfully at her through the pouring rain. "So I'm asking you to please forget about me."___

_The girl looked sadly away.___

_"Please, Fuuko. I can't be the right guy for you because you deserve someone better. Someone who would always be there for you whenever you need him. Someone who has more time for you.  Someone who doesn't have a past to get in the way. And I know I can't be that person because I can't live up to those expectations."___

_She began to close her eyes, desperately trying to bear the pain of having to let him go.___

_"So I'm just wishing you the best in your life." He gave her one last smile. "Sayonara, Fuuko-chan."___

_And with this, he removed his hand from her cheek and began to walk away, without saying any more.___

_All of a sudden the girl stopped crying. She stood there on the sidewalk, drenched, as she watched him walk away from her, leaving her alone in the dark.___

_He was gone.___

_*FLASH*___

_"Fuuko! What the heck do you think you're doing?!?" The boy winced as he tried to stand on his broken leg.___

_She smiled at him. "This...is...your chance...Tokiya..."___

_"Fuuko!!! Stop this cyclone! Now!" he looked worriedly at her, enraged that she was a fool enough to risk her own life just for him.___

_But she merely smiled, until her eyes began to shut close.___

_The boy cursed inwardly, desperately looking for a way to get her out of danger. ___

_He struck his sword into the ground and shouted, "Tsurara Mai!!!"___

_Hundreds of icicles came dancing back and forth, wringing the madougu out of the girl's wrist and making the whirlwind vanish.___

_He forcefully ran towards her. "Fuuko!"___

_But she lay flaccidly on the floor, barely alive.___

_"Fuuko!!!"___

_*FLASH*___

Everything seemed to go back into focus, and the sound of the heavy chains slashing me again and again came back into earshot.__

_Sou da…Fuuko...I had been a fool enough to get you into all of this...and now...___

All of a sudden I could feel the pain of Akira's chains knocking me out again. Even the pain of my broken arm and leg came back, and so did the lightheaded feeling of having wasted much blood.

I focused at the Ensui pierced right through the floor.

_Gather from all the places of great icicle...___

_Absolute Zero...!___

Layers of ice slowly began to spread across the floor, gathering around where Akira was standing.

She laughed villainously. "Pathetic! You're too helpless to even move!"

I slowly raised my head at her, and gave her a smirk.

Her eyes widened in anger. "What the heck are you _smirking for?!?"_

I kept my expression. "I'll ...make sure...you freeze...to absolute zero...degrees..."

"_What!!!" She shrieked as she realized that her boots were slowly being frozen. She gasped and tried to make her chains avoid contact with the floor. She had managed to make the first chain wrap around her arm again, but pulled up the second one a little too late. It crumbled into tiny icicles just as she pulled it up, and panicked when she felt that her boots were completely frozen now. Her leg would be next..._

She gasped and forcibly jumped up, releasing her feet from her frozen boots and managing to avoid being frozen herself. She landed on the other side of the room, panting at the close call.

I gathered everything I had and forced myself to stand up again, ignoring the excruciating pain in my leg and the burning sensation all over my body.

I gave Akira an angry smile. "When I tried to use the Icicle Flow on your chain a while back, you told me that it wouldn't work on you as long as you were aware of it. So since you were too intent on hitting me to death, you didn't even realize what I was doing," I groaned, walking over to where my Ensui was and pulling it out of the ground. "Thanks for not destroying my madougu first before you tried to kill me."

She scowled heatedly at me. "This time, I'll make sure I do!!!" She jumped towards me and stretched out her chain, and only when I dodged it did I see the orb that was controlling it. It was located on her other wrist, where the other now-broken chain was supposedly covering it.

_If I could only destroy it...___

Her chain was gaining on me again. I tried to jump away, but my broken leg made me land on the wrong place at the wrong time. And her chain picked that time to smack me right in the face.

I slammed against the wall for the millionth time, cringing.

"Ha! That broken leg of yours is slowing you down, Tokiya! And you've only got _one functioning arm!" she grinned in satisfaction. "But don't worry dear, I'll do you the favor of breaking your remaining limbs!" She stretched her chain out to me again._

I ducked and rolled across the floor; the wall behind me breaking where she'd targeted her chain.

A cold drop of water on my hand gave me a little jerk. I glanced at my Ensui; the water was beginning to melt.

_Kuso..._

I winced as I stood up and tried to run towards her. I raised my madougu and hoped that my Ensui's last blow would actually make a critical hit on her.

"Tsurara Hebi!!!" 

I watched as the icicle snake made its way towards her, but then everything started to spin and haze away; she was gone. Again!

I whirled around just in time to fall back down again, for her chain had grabbed the ankle of my broken leg. She lifted me upside-down and let me go forcefully after a whirl around.

The moment I slid onto the floor, a flow of what seemed like electricity rushed through my whole body and I couldn't help but cry out a small scream of pain. The Ensui slipped from my hand as its blade melted away into water, the handle dropping on the floor with a clunk. I reached down at my leg, keeping my eyes shut tight and gritting my teeth. The pain was too strong; she'd broken the very same leg twice!

I straightened up and groaned out loud, as I stumbled back down. I tried to balance on my other leg, but another course of excruciating pain ran up my spine, and I groaned even louder. It was no good; I couldn't even stand up.

By now Akira was laughing in tears.

I moaned again and looked up at her, puffing. And then there it was again. That damn surge.

I grimaced, trying my best to ignore the pain. But I couldn't.

Akira was glowing.

I continued to stare at her breathlessly, thinking of a way on how I could destroy her Psychic Device.

"Well! It's my day to shine!" She turned to take a glimpse of the unconscious Fuuko on the floor, then looked back at me. "Too bad _she can't watch it," she shrugged. "Oh well..." she smiled hungrily at me. "My glory awaits."_

She held out her fingers at me. "I'll be keeping your head though, I wouldn't want that incredibly kawaii face go to waste now, would I?" She batted her eyelashes at me. "Sayo nara, itoshii..." and her chain came charging forward.

But it went right through a river of blood, which spluttered against the walls.

"_Nani?!? The Water Puppet again__?!?" She gaped at the empty space in front of her._

"Mizu Hebi!"

She shrieked in pain as she clutched her arm where the red snake had hit her. The orb on her wrist, with an ear piercing sound, shattered into pieces.

"_Noooo!!!" she screamed as she watched it break._

I collapsed onto the floor, panting even harder. "Now...we're even..."

She fumed wrathfully at me. "No, we're not!!! If you want it that way, then I'll use my chain _even without the madougu's power!!!" She made a position to attack me, but then she stopped._

"Wait..." she turned back to Fuuko. "She can't even watch the show, so what's she even doing here?" she laughed again. "She might as well..." she smiled at me, "..._die, right?"_

_Iie..._

"Right...?" she repeated melodiously.

 "You _damn witch, leave her out of this!!!" I growled._

"Oooooohh, Toki-chan's getting all defensive! Kinda makes me all _psyched about it even more..." She aimed her fingers at Fuuko now._

"Iie...! _Yamero!!!" I shouted._

Her smile widened. "Here we go!!!" And she threw the chain forcefully at her.

Regardless of my broken leg, I stood up with all my might and tried to run as fast as I could to where Fuuko was, praying that I could actually bear the pain and make it in time---

_Ugh…damn it, I cursed, keeping my eyes tightly shut and pretending Akira's blow didn't hurt me at all. __Damn it, damn it, damn it...___

I was miraculously standing in front of Fuuko's body, with my back to Akira and my hands pressed against the wall, trying to act as a shield. I was swearing silently with Akira's every blow, which was enough to make me go crazy, but I was doing everything I could to take the impact just so Fuuko was alright.

The heavy chain was giving my back the worst it ever had.__

_Damn it..._

I tried to ignore the fact that blood was pouring out of my leg.

_Damn...___

I was starting to get dizzy...I knew I was losing too much blood, and considering I had used my blood to create my Ensui's blade and summon a snake, I wouldn't be surprised if I completely ran out of blood at the moment.

_Kuso...___

More blood was dripping from my broken arm, too.

I groaned as Akira continuously kept hitting me. But since the orb of her madougu was gone, her chain wasn't moving on its own anymore and she was hitting me manually, which made her take a long time to let the chain reach me. I was actually considering it an advantage.

All of a sudden Fuuko's hand began to twitch, and her eyes began to open.

Just when my knees finally gave way and I slipped onto the floor.


	8. Everything For The Love of You

PART SEVEN Everything for the Love of You 

**Fuuko******

"Tokiya!" I gasped. He had knelt down, but he was still trying to protect me.

"F...Fuuko...you're awake..." he strained to speak, wincing every now and then when a chain would hit his back.

"Wha...what are you d-doing to yourself...?" My eyes swept down to his bleeding leg, then to his arm. Even his neck had slash marks in them. "_Please, Tokiya, stop __doing this! You're..." I trailed off. I had spotted the Ensui on his hand, and saw that its blade was red._

"Masaka..." I stared at it in horror. "You didn't...your blood..." I looked back worriedly at him. "Your blood's going to..."

He flinched. "Forget...about the freakin' thing...what's important…is that...you're awake...and that..you're okay..."

"But your blood's going to run out!" I glared at him, not exactly knowing how to feel. "Don't you understand that you're...you're...going to _die if you go on like this?!?" I continued._

He made an effort to smile. "I don't...mind...dying...right now..."

All at once I was close to crying. "Why are you _doing this?!?" I reached out to touch his cheek and wipe away the blood on his lips. I shut my eyes as my tears started to roll down._

"Tokiya...yameru...kudasai...don't do this..." I looked at his pained eyes, finding it hard to breathe. 

"I'm so damn sick...and tired...of having other people...risk their lives...and die...just for me..." He looked at me straight in the eye. "I figured...it's time for me...to die...for someone else..." he paused. "…Someone...like…you..."

I looked at him speechlessly, as a tear rolled down my cheek. The fact that he was risking his own life just for me...

More tears started to fall, as I rubbed my hand on his cheek, not knowing what to say.

He smiled again. "Don't cry...Fuuko..."

I looked away.

"Do me a favor...and get down..."  ****

I looked back at him. "What--"

"Get...down..."

"I don't--"

He reached for my shoulder and pushed me to the floor, and he jumped up just as an extremely heavy chain came crashing against the wall where my head could've been. But now the chain was stuck through the wall, and Tokiya had stepped on it, running towards Akira, who was struggling to pull out the chain.

Akira looked at Tokiya in shock as she let go of the chain, and he picked that moment to raise his sword and slash the orb of the pendant on her neck, while she was still in shock. 

With a groan, she fell to the ground, with Mi-chan's Ensui still positioned to where her pendant had been.

And then suddenly, my surroundings became indistinct and the next thing I knew I was looking at a small house, where there were two people sitting on a porch bench, and a child was running around the small yard.

The child had stopped running in front of the two people--his parents. He looked up at them with questioning eyes and asked, "Okaasan...Otousan...how come I always have to play by myself at home...? I always see Sakura-chan next door playing with someone she calls Momiji-neesan..."

The mother looked at her child and smiled. "Momiji-neesan is Sakura-chan's sister, Kai-kun."

"Sister...?" The boy looked hopefully at his parents. "How come _I don't have a sister, Okaasan?"_

The parents exchanged glances, and told the child, "Only good little boys are given sisters, Kai-kun. So if you want one, you have to behave well."

The child grinned. "Hai!!! I'll be a good boy!"

The scene altered.

The little boy was now tugging on the skirt of his mother, who was holding up a plate in the kitchen.

"Doushite, Kai-kun?" she asked.

"Okaasan, I finished putting my toys away, and I helped Sakura-chan find her ball this morning. I've been a really good boy lately, Okaasan! When will Sister come play with me?"

"Um..." The mother looked worried. "She'll come soon, dear. She'll come soon."

The scene shifted again, and now the little boy was a few years older, and he was sitting on the porch bench with a much younger, chubby-looking girl with short red hair. Only, her hair was disheveled, her clothes were a little torn, and her face had soot marks on it. She was crying.

The boy was patting her back and was trying to clean her face.

"Kai-neesan...why does Otousan tear my clothes and pinch my ear so often...? How come Okaasan makes me clean the floor..." she trailed off.

The boy merely hugged her.

"I'm tired, oneesan...I'm tired...please help me..." she cried even louder.

The boy hugged her tighter and stroked her hair. "Daijoubu, Akira-chan, I'm always here...always..."

The next scene showed the once small boy now grown into a young man, with slightly curly hair that was starting to grow long. The once chubby little one had become thinner, and her hair had become longer, but she was still a young girl. And she was holding on to her brother's arm, tearing up again.

"Oneesan!!! Don't go away!!! Don't leave!!!" she was saying.

The young man smiled down at her. "Meguri-sama has called for your oneesan, Akira-chan. I'm going to train myself to be stronger so I can protect you even more."

"No! No! I want oneesan to stay _here!!! Oneesan promised that he'd always be here!!!"_

He gave her a hug. "Oneesan will be back soon, okay, Akira-chan? Be a good girl," he said, and he let her go and went out the door.

"_Come back, oneesan!!!" The girl was left crying at the doorway. "__Oneesan!!!"___

I shook my head and I was again looking at the present Akira, whose eyes were now welling up.

"After...after that...my parents treated me...the worst they ever could...but there was nothing I could do...until...I found out that they'd only adopted me just to keep Kai company...and so I finally had the guts to end their lives...so that my sufferings would end, too...it serves them right…they so damn deserve it…" she closed her eyes as more tears began to fall. "I went to search for Kai in Meguri-sama's place so that I could live happily with him again...only to find...someone else...being taught the Hyomon Ken techniques...but I didn't give up my search...until I found out that he'd joined a group of terrorists working under some damned rich guy...so I tried to play along...watching every match in the tournament...looking forward to _his match...so that I could see how he improved...but when it finally came..." she turned to look angrily at Tokiya, "...you...you made him kill himself...and he died...right before me...and I didn't even get the chance to talk to him again...after all those years I'd spent...searching...searching for the only happiness in my life...for the only person who could make me smile...for the only person who could bring light to my ruined life...and...make it worth living again..." she trailed off. _

"Kai-neesan...It was _so ironic, wasn't it...? I went to search for him so that I could live a new life...but then...__he died...wasn't it __cool...? Wasn't it funny...when the only things you wish for...never get to come to you...they never belong to you...in the end... " She began to laugh uncontrollably, but her tears were streaming down and her eyes were aggrieved and wounded, as if there was some sort of emptiness in her that could never again be filled. As if it never even had a soul._

I straightened up and began to walk towards her, suddenly regretting all the prejudice and harsh treatments I'd given her. I should have known better...I should have known that there was a reason for all this...

"That's funny," her eyes caught sight of the shattered orb on the floor, "how come...it showed you an illusion of my pathetic life...?" She started to laugh again.

I looked pitifully at her. "Akira…I know it must've been hard…but you should never take it out on your parents…even if they weren't your _true_ parents…they still took care of you and brought you up to become who you are now—"

"Shut up! They didn't bring me up to become who I am; I _chose_ to be who I am! Not once did I receive anything from them that helped me be myself!" she cried.

I started to protest. "Sonna koto nai—"  

"What would _you_ know? You never experienced any problems at all! You _always_ get what you want…you're lucky to have won the heart of the smartest guy in school…" she trailed off.

Tokiya, who was still holding the blade to her neck, blinked in surprise. 

I glanced at him. He turned to look at me, and his gaze lingered on my eyes for a moment, before he turned back to her.

"Finish me quick…please…" Tears were fast flooding her eyes. "I guess I deserve to die as much as my parents did—"

"It's…not right…to hate them so much…" Tokiya struggled to speak. "You were lucky…you had…parents…"

I looked at him in astonishment. Tokiya had never uttered a word about his parents for as long as I've known him; that was probably why I had forgotten that aside from having lost his sister, he had lost his parents as well…how insensitive I was…expecting him to concentrate on _me_ all the time…on _my _feelings…on _my_ problems…and forgetting about the huge burden that he had been carrying on his shoulders for all these years…

I looked away from him and clenched my fist. _I should have known…_

"No one…deserves…to die…" He closed his eyes and began to withdraw his sword. 

All of a sudden Akira grabbed hold of the Ensui's blade with her bare hands, cutting her own flesh.

She smiled up at him, and pulled the blade towards her own chest, to her heart.

Tokiya's eyes widened.

"Akira!!!" I gasped, kneeling down beside her.

She grinned weakly. "A...arigato...gozaimasu...Tokiya...kun..."

And her eyes shut close.

My hand flew to my mouth, as I stared wordlessly at her dead body. _Iie... _

I jerked up a bit in surprise as the red blade of the Ensui splashed away into a puddle of blood, and Tokiya suddenly collapsed onto the floor, his blood still oozing out of his countless wounds.

I worriedly moved towards him and lay his head on my lap. I was relieved to see that he was still breathing. He must have collapsed from all the exhaustion and from struggling to continue fighting.

For a moment I sat there on the floor, running my hand gently through his hair, looking at his face. He had always looked so fierce and tough when he was out fighting, but when he was asleep...he looked so...

So...

I smiled at him, his eyes shut close and his lips partly open. He didn't really seem like someone who'd be able to die trying to save someone else's life. _My life. He was so sweet..._

_Kawaii..._

All of a sudden I was wishing more than anything that none of this ever happened...that Akira and I could've been ordinary students...we all could've been friends...we could've been happier...she wouldn't have...died...Tokiya and I wouldn't have argued with each other...

And...

Tokiya...wouldn't have broken up with me...

We could've stayed the way we were...

As lovers...   

I shook my head and tried to smile down at his peaceful face.

_Mi-chan no baka...___

*** 

I immediately clutched my neck and made a face. _Ugh!_

I looked down through the goblet in my hand at the reddish-winey-thingy inside it. _This stuff tastes horrible!!!___

I looked around at my schoolmates, all dressed up fancily. They were all carrying goblets of that very same icky stuff.

I cringed in disgust. They were all drinking that stuff just to look all classy? How on earth could their taste buds survive that?!?

I gladly put down my goblet on a nearby table, hoping to never see it again.

"Fuuko-chan!!!"

I turned around to see Yanagi-chan hurrying towards me, looking fabulously stunning in her new dress. I smiled at her as she reached me. "What's up?"

She took my hand. "_My half share of the dance is over," she smiled sweetly at me, "it's your turn, now."_

I looked doubtfully at her. "Are you sure you still want to go through with this? I know you're only doing this because you want to help me. I assure you, Yanagi-chan, I'll be fine! So why don't you--"

She gave me a light push towards the dance floor. "Go ahead," she smiled again.

I still wasn't so sure. "What'll you be doing then?"

"Oh, I'll just sit here and have some cake," she grinned.

Well, if you asked me, she wasn't actually very convincing. But if that was what she wanted, then...

"You're so nice to come to this," I sighed. "Thanks a lot."

She waved her hand around. "No problem."

I slowly walked my way between all the students dancing around, looking for him.

All of a sudden somebody tapped my shoulder. I whirled around.

"Oi, Fuuko-san!" Hanabishi gave me a lopsided grin. He scanned me up and down. "Wooowie..."

I glared at him and grabbed his collar. "_Nani?!?"___

"Okay! Okay! Sorry already!!!" he grinned good-humoredly. I smirked and let him go. 

He dusted off his coat. "Well it's true, you know," he smiled. "You _do look good."_

I sighed. "Wakatteru...arigatou gozaimasu."

For a moment neither of us said anything for a while. 

Then he looked down at me and asked, "Well? Are you ready to dance?"

I opened my mouth to speak, when the music ended at the same time. I smiled triumphantly.

But then something sappy and slow began to play again. I sighed and gave a little nod.

He stepped closer and placed his hands on my hips, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

And we began to dance.

I laid my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes. When Recca and I were both still little, I had always played with him and we had always fought with each other. Of course, I had always lost. And usually, I got pissed off whenever I did. But then my feelings for him had begun to grow into wanting him to fall for me, just like I was falling for him back then. That was why I had wanted him to be my personal shinobi so badly.

All those times I had always wanted to change our friendship into something romantic. So I couldn't actually blame myself for wanting to dance with him.

_Back then.___

That was a long time ago.

And now that I was actually _dancing to a slow dance with him...well..._

It felt...different.

Sure, he was a guy…and I'd fallen for him once, but...

It just wasn't the same.

The only person I had wanted to dance with right now was Tokiya.

And he wasn't here.

So then...what was _I doing here...?_

I lifted my head from Hanabishi's shoulder and slowly moved away.

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "Doushite, Fuuko-san?"

"I just can't...dance anymore."

"Huh?" He looked honestly confused.

I smiled up at him. "Don't get me the wrong way, Recca; you're a great dancer, really...it's just that...well...I know that you were kind enough to have offered to help me by dancing with Yanagi for the first half and then with me, but...I'd...I'd rather be dancing with Mi-chan. And if I can't dance with him, then I'd...I'd rather stay at home," I looked politely at him. "You _do understand, don't you...? I mean, I'm sure you'd want to dance with Yanagi-chan than with me, too."_

A streak of red stained his cheeks and he looked down. "Well...I guess..."

I smiled again. "Wait right here," I said, and then moved out of the dance floor to look for Yanagi.

I spotted her sitting alone on a chair, slicing her cake but not eating at all. I tapped her shoulder.

She looked up, startled. "Fuuko...? I thought you were--"

I grabbed her hand, pulled her up, and led her to where Recca was standing. She looked back at me questioningly.

I grinned. "I think I'll be going home."

"Fuuko-chan--" she protested, a glimmer of worry in her eyes.

I looked at Hanabishi. "Just promise me you'll give Yanagi-chan the time of her life tonight, okay?"

They both looked baffled, but then they started to smile. I knew they would understand me.

Yanagi nodded. "Arigato gozaimashite, Fuuko-chan. Have a nice night."

I waved at them. "Thanks for everything. Oyasumi."

They both smiled and started dancing together.

I made my way towards the door, wondering how Tokiya was doing and if his wounds had gotten any better.

Right there and then, I knew, there was another place I'd rather be.

Tokiya 

There was a faint knock on the door, and I glared at it, wondering who it could've been at this hour of the night.

Flinching, I limped over to the door and answered it.

Fuuko was standing right there in the doorway, looking drop-dead gorgeous.

For a moment I was frozen by the doorway, as I didn't know what I was supposed to tell her. We hadn't really talked to each other much for the past few weeks, so I didn't really have anything in my mind at the moment.

Then she tiptoed and kissed me at the cheek.

Her unexpected gesture left me bewildered. I blinked at her, clueless.

Well...? How was I supposed to react...?

She must've caught my expression because she laughed lightly, then grabbed my hand and pulled me inside the room.

I closed the door behind us. 

She kept on looking at me, but she wasn't saying anything. And she wasn't exactly showing any signs of doing so.

So I figured _I should say something. "I thought you were at the dance." It just, kind of, made its way out of my mouth. I almost rolled my eyes. __Lame...so lame...baka ryou..._

She smiled at me. "Well, I _was, until I figured since I didn't have anyone to dance with anyway, I was better off here to see how my Mi-chan's doing."_

"..."

"..." She stared back at me, too, not saying anything.

I cleared my throat. "Well, I'm fine, actually, so I suggest that instead of spoiling your night here you might as well go back--"

"I'm not spoiling my night here at all," she grinned. "Actually, I'd rather stay here with you, that's all."

"..." All I could do was keep on staring at her. Don't blame me; she looked especially beautiful with the way she was dressed tonight. Her dress took exactly the shape of her beautiful figure, and since it was sleeveless and only reached down to a point somewhere below her knees, much of her soft skin was exposed. In a really feminine way, not like the way her skin was usually exposed when she wore her typical denim shorts. And since it was in a dark velvet shade of violet, it gave her purple hair more shine. And the thin necklace adorning her lovely neck was making her face brighter, her eyes greener. She was the very image of an angel. 

"I haven't really been seeing much of you at the university lately. You've pretty much been absent most of the time," she smiled that perfect smile of hers. "And I really miss you. More than you ever know."

"…" Somehow, I couldn't bring myself to tell her that I felt exactly the same way for her.

Her eyes swept downwards. "So how's that leg of yours? Does it still hurt?"

"Well, the more I think of the damn thing, the more it hurts, so I might as well forget about it." 

She was silent again, and then she looked at my face. Her brows furrowed. "You haven't really gained much of your color back yet, Mi-chan..."

I shoved my hands into my pockets. "Forget about that. I'm pretty much used to losing blood."

She stepped closer to me and reached out to touch my neck. I couldn't help but wince. The slash marks were still there, and sometimes I couldn't even move my head too much because of them. The scars were really deep. It was surprising that blood didn't ooze out too much anymore. 

She sighed. "I'm kind of surprised, though," she said, still not removing her hand. It sent little bolts of electricity down my spine. "You managed to recover only after a few weeks' time."

"Guess my body's used to it," I muttered.

She continued running her gentle fingers around my neck, making my heartbeat go faster. I was glad I couldn't see my face turning beet red and blushing like crazy.

She gave a slight nod. "Maybe."

I shrugged. She let go. And then there was silence again.

I kept my gaze on her, just as she kept her gaze on me. She was so beautiful...from her hair…to her face...her tantalizing blue-green eyes...her thin red lips... to her body...

All of a sudden I was overwhelmed by a sudden depression. So much as I had wanted her, it reminded me that we weren't supposed to be together anymore. Right now, we were just friends again. Just like we were before.

Just friends.

Her smile faltered and she looked away. Could she be thinking the same thing? 

We had never really discussed the breaking up, and we often just went on day by day, trying to act like we never really got together in the first place. Trying to act like nothing really happened between us. Trying to put things back the way they used to be quite some time ago.

I didn't really want it that way. I wanted to be able to love her again. 

But maybe this was for the best.

After all, we wouldn't be having awkward moments like these if we'd just stayed friends in the first place.

"You're...you're graduating next month, ne?" she asked softly, still not looking at me.

"..."

"So...what are you going to do...?" she asked again.

"Actually...I'm..." I hesitated for a moment, judging on whether I should tell her or not.

_Oh, what the heck.___

"I'm going...to China," I managed to say.

This time she looked at me. "To...to China, huh..." she repeated, whispering to herself. "That's...a pretty long way from here...isn't...it...?"

"Oneesan always wanted to take me there when I was still little. She wanted me to see the Great Wall. She told me that a lot of men had died constructing it just so they could protect the country from invaders. That was...that was how she taught me...that sometimes, you have to make sacrifices...sometimes, you have to risk your life for the sake of other people..." I looked down, remembering how she had died. "Just like she did..."

"And just like _you did," Fuuko smiled soulfully at me. "You risked your life, too, remember? You risked everything you had, just for me...just so I was safe..." she said. "I guess...that would make Mifuyu-san glad…wouldn't it?" she continued._

I looked at her stunning features again, and then before I even knew it, I had reached out to cup her cheek, taking in the softness of her skin. She closed her eyes and her fingers reached up to touch my hand.

"Tokiya...I want you to know...that I really appreciate the way you fought for me...the way you wanted me to be safe...I appreciate it...thank you..." she whispered, her eyes still closed, her hand still touching mine. She gave it a little squeeze.

I wanted to kiss her right at the moment and never let her go again.

But I knew better than to do that. 

Things would only get worse.

She opened her eyes, which were actually kind of teary, and looked straight into mine.

"Fuuko..." I whispered, not daring to tell her those three words I'd told her some weeks ago.

I sighed and removed my hand, looking away again.

She looked away as well.

"I should...I should probably get going," she said almost inaudibly.

"..."

She looked up at me again. "You should get some rest, too."

I gave a little nod. "Oyasumi nasai, Fuuko-chan..."

"Oyasumi," she said, as she walked towards the door. Then she paused at the doorway.

Just like I had wanted her to.

Minutes of silence passed us by, until I said, "Happy Valentine's day."

She smiled. "Happy Valentine's."

And I stepped forward to give her a last embrace. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me back.

I kissed her head and she lay it on my shoulder, smiling. I rested my cheek on her hair and closed my eyes. 

It was just an embrace. No sweet nothings. Just a simple hug. That mere hug told me everything I needed to know. She was Kirisawa Fuuko—a good friend of mine who taught me a great deal about life, love…and friendship.

It was hard to let her go. But it was for the best.

And who knows? 

I smiled.

Maybe this was just the beginning of something new.


	9. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

**Fuuko******

_My feet suddenly stopped moving. I stopped dead in my tracks. My head slowly moved up to look at the building in front of me. And my eyes caught sight of a familiar room window where I'd been before. I couldn't help but remember everything that's happened to me.___

_Normally, a person wouldn't want to see a hospital for fear of omens of getting a disease. It would've been the same thing for me, if this hospital didn't make me reminisce so much.___

_A lot of things have happened to me in this particular hospital. And no matter how hard I tried to forget, they always pop up in my mind again.___

_I sighed. Some things are just meant to remain with you forever.___

_I kept my gaze on the particular room. I remembered it well…it was the first time that I ever confessed to Tokiya that I loved him more than a friend. It was the night of my first kiss. The night my whole life changed.___

_Laugh all you want; I know a hospital isn't exactly the most romantic place to be when you want to confess your love for someone. But it was different for me. The important thing was that he loved me, too. And although it was a really weird place to sneak a kiss, it made me feel good. That night went down the charts in the romantic-ambiance-scale, but at least all the lights were off that time.___

_My eyes moved down from the building to the sidewalk right in front of it. This time it was a different memory, a different feeling. On this exact sidewalk, my whole life changed again. It was another unforgettable night. The night Tokiya walked out of my life. The night we both went our separate ways.___

_Funny how two completely contrasting events could take place in the same area. ___

_My lips slowly curved into a smile.__What was done, was done. It was over.__But I knew that the feeling would always last.__Because I wanted to keep everything that happened.___

In memory of a friend.                                                                                                                                                                                       

**_~owari~_****__**

12:04 am pure pinoy (aaahh madaling-araw na!!)

January 21, 2001

FuJinGrL 2001!!!

_Waaaaahhhoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! My third fiiiiiiiiiiicc!!! I hope it's just in time for Valentine's Day!!! It's coming up, ne??? (Okay, so maybe it's still a little far…but who CARES?!?) Rekka Shinen!!!~wowowowowowowowow, I am soooooooosleepy...Toki-chan! Take care of the rest for meeeeeee! (Don't forget to save this document and shut down the PC!!!BYEEEEEOYASUMI NASAI!!!!!!!!!)~___

_*Tokiya grumbles and asks Tasuki to do it instead*___

_*Tasuki: Nani?!? Do your icicles want a date with my flames?!?*___

_*Tokiya begins to frown*___

_(Uh-oh, trouble in paradise...what will happen when the elements collide??? ToukAIRIN-SAN!!! I need your rescue-team experience!!!! We're all in a crucial state right now...so GET DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAINS AND RESCUE ME!!!!!)_

_HEHEHE this is all just something crazy that I senselessly wrote down...(Proves that I'm dozing off! Oki! Bye! Sayo nara, minna-san!)___

**_***NOTE: For all you avid Tokiya+Fuuko fans out there...I know you're probably waving your fists furiously at me by now because of the UNSATISFACTORY ending (I know...I didn't like the way things wound up, either...@_@; ) so I'm really, really sorry!!! Sumimasen!!! But don't worry; I'm currently working on a sequel to this fic, and I guarantee you, their relationship will DEFINITELY work out. (Although it starts a little rocky and it'll take a pretty long while for everything to go the way we all want it to...hehehe but that's all I'll be saying...of course I wouldn't want to spoil the ending for you, would I? You'll just have to wait a little more patiently...)_******

And I'm sorry if it still stinks! But then again, I'll never know for sure…unless you send me your comments! Criticize my work! Please! :D


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